KISEKI
by 01Trycia-chan01
Summary: In-universe. Post-war. Four years after the war, Naruto and Tsunade successfully scheme. Sakura and Sasuke have a surprise in store for them. Let the games, comedy and drama begin! Rated M/MA
1. My Neighbor

KISEKI

|1|

Okay. DON'T kill me. This is my first SasuSaku. Okay? I love the pairing. It's dysfunctional, it's great. Also, this is my first time writing from a first-person POV. I feel like there are a lot of pro's and con's to writing in just first person. Soo yeah, I'm giving this a go.

Overall, I'm going to try to make this enjoyable but it's going to take time to build on it. This is post-war. Everything is peachy. Sasuke and Sakura are BOTH seeing other people; don't get frustrated with me! That will change because this story is labeled as a Sasusaku and yeah.

Ugh… I'm so in Shikamaru mode right now… the beginning of all my stories are so troublesome to write…

-X-

It's been six months since I've been back in the village. I had an anbu-level assignment that…wasn't really anbu-level. I was to help all of the badly wounded in Lightning country recover, return to Konoha for as long as I can stand, and then go back to Tsunade-sama to complain about how I can't stand being here, freak out and probably get sent somewhere else... Maybe I should make a trip to Suna… see Gaara, I nervously thought as the gates loomed over and Konohamaru, on guard duty today waved to me.

"OOOOI!" He jumped up excitedly, still hyper even though now he was older. I smiled and waved back. Suddenly the backpack on my back became heavy and I realized just how tired I had become. How many years has it been now? Four? Yeah. It's been four years. I haven't spent longer than maybe six months total in Konoha in the entire four years since the war ended. Why? Very good question… I waved at the passersby, people recognizing me, no doubt by my pink hair. I smiled and stopped to chat as I made my way towards Naruto and Tsunade's conjoined office. Tsunade-sama had still yet to retire from her duties. She wanted to train Naruto in being Rokudaime before she actually gave him the title. Peacetime required a totally different kind of leadership than Naruto was ready for, but we wrote to each other often and he always said that even though "baa-chan" was scary, he was learning a lot from her. I chuckled to myself and hopped up the side of the hokage tower, snuck in through the window aaaaand—

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto's sensory skills had improved. He was standing, reading some paper as Tsunade was sitting and watching him. He dropped the parchment and pulled me into a hug that I have to say I missed. I squeezed him back. His hair had gotten just a bit longer and he was looking more and more like the late Yondaime every day. I blushed, because he had grown handsome…definitely. Hinata was a lucky girl…

"Yo, Naruto." I teased with my tongue out. He grinned like a meerkat in front of its prey.

"So… how about you, teme and I—

I held up my hand and he shut his mouth. Not _that_ old question again….

"No. I have a report to give and a long shower to take." I shut him down and he frowned, his unhappiness making me feel guilty. But No. I did not want to see the man that had broken my heart as a boy. Bluntly speaking, _screw that, shannaro_! I wasn't going to just ease back into the "team life" as Naruto liked to call it and pretend to be cheesy, happy, gushy little Sakura again. I was anbu damn it. And I wasn't going back to my old spot; not until I was respected for what I had worked so hard to become. Tsunade cocked a gold brow at my brush-off but held her hand out for my mission report scroll. I handed it to her. Just as she was unfurling the scroll and reading the first few lines and just as Naruto picked up the paper he dropped, a knock sounded at the door.

A familiar chakra pricked my senses and Naruto shouted "Come in!".

Ugh. The bane of my existence. The epitome of my shameful former self. Uchiha Sasuke… in… an abu uniform? When had he risen up the ranks? Had it really been that long? Great, I resisted from rolling my eyes. We now had matching outfits _and _tattoos. How cute. Gut me, please and be done with it. I crossed my arms, and Tsunade's sharp eyes shifted to study me briefly. She knew I was tense and she knew why too. I was still angry and she knew it. She sighed, ignoring my urgency to just go. I didn't want to be here too long.

"What's the news, Uchiha?"

Sasuke was silent and Tsunade sighed again, tired of it all at this point. She reached for a bottle of sake from a secret compartment in her desk and took a swig right out of the bottle. I smirked. I missed my sensei's alcoholic tendencies.

"Sakura's anbu. You can speak confidently." She coaxed. It worked. The man spoke. Praise the Lord, I thought sarcastically.

"All of the borders are experiencing troubles except for ours. It's mostly bandits angry with poverty now that there's peace. There are no rumors yet about any groups of solid organizations." Sasuke briefly commented. "The details are in the scroll." He stepped forward and was now standing next to me. I put on my anbu-face and just stared out the window past Tsunade-sama.

"Mm… good." Tsunade-sama scanned his scroll, as well as looked over mine. I glared holes through the glass of her window. She was _making _us stand next to each other. I could almost _feel _Naruto laughing at me behind my back. What the _hell_ was this sudden change of attitude? They both knew I didn't want to be tied down by memories of _him_.

Nothing changed for several minutes as Tsunade read on, shifting her eyes from scroll to scroll. I was getting more and more pissed as the seconds flew by.

"Request to check up on Suna, Shisho?" I spoke up, professionally, coldly, so she knew how dissatisfied I was with her.

"Denied." She calmly responded and swigged from the while bottle again. "There's a lot of violence on that border, according to Uchiha." She added. "Also, your medical records need to be updated at the hospital and missions longer than three months require at least a month of rest before an operative is allowed to leave on another extensive journey. You have been gone for six. That's twice the amount and I have half a mind to keep you here for the _two_ months you _should _stay…" _If you don't change your heartless attitude_ would have been the rest of her sentence, if Sasuke wasn't in the room.

Fuck you, Uchiha Sasuke. Fuck you.

"Understood." I responded coldly.

"Dismissed until further notice."

I turned to leave.

"Both of us?" Sasuke queried in his stupid, still-sexy, deep baritone. Tsunade-sama paused a moment.

"Yes, both of you." I heard just as I waved to Naruto with a smile plastered to my face and exited the building. Once I was out I flew to my apartment, tired and frustrated. Maybe I could ask Lee for a spar later? Or maybe Kakashi-sensei was around to help me with my ninjutsu? I unlocked my door once I had climbed all three floors and exchanged niceties with my fellow neighbors who had missed having me around. I pulled open my dusty curtains and pushed the window open to let some fresh air breeze through the musty apartment. I had enough money to hire a maid but it's not like keeping the dust off of this place mattered much to me anyway. I was barely ever here. I'd probably be gone in a week or two. Firs thing first, though… food. I needed to buy food to cook myself dinner and some bath items; small ones because I wouldn't be here for long. And then, I needed to call Ino and see what she was up to. I pinched the bridge of my nose… I always had so much shit to do…

-X-

I turned to Naruto, just catching Sakura's long pink hair as she was leaving. I trained my eyes on my blond brother and stuck out my fist. It was good to see him in one piece after three months. Naruto's fist met mine and I smirked at him, crossing my arms. He knew what was on my mind.

"Sure we'll spar later." He spoke in response to the question I never asked. That was how we worked.

"Training ground three. At Seven." I mumbled before I turned around, bowed to both village leaders as my manners taught me, and left at a leisurely pace, hands in my pockets, as usual.

-X-

I grinned evilly at Tsunade-baa-chan once the door was shut and teme was gone.

"When do you think they'll notice?" I asked eagerly, twitching my fingers and keeping my voice low, because I knew teme was only a few feet away from the building. He'd raise the third ring of hell if he realized what we had done.

Baa-chan smirked and shook her head.

"I don't know." She shrugged and drank again. Heh heh, it was fun drinking with Baa-chan. We came up with the best plans when we were drunk. This recent one… probably was the best we had ever come up with. I called it "Operation bring Teme and Sakura-chan together" but baa-chan was better with codenames so she just named the unofficial "mission," "Kiseki" for "miracle", because it'd be a miracle if Sakura-chan was ever nice to teme again and it would be a miracle if teme ever started to care what she thought or didn't think about him.

So we went about our business… I was hoping teme would notice immediately and try to kill me harder during our sparring session later, but that was only if he was tense enough in his own apartment to actively check the chakra of each tenant.

-X-

As I was about to leave my apartment, I heard the apartment door next to mine click shut, and a rustling around through the wall. I was minutely peeved that Tsunade let someone rent this floor out, especially that she let someone rent the room _right next to me_ out but at the same time, what did I expect? People were looking for low-income housing. And this apartment… it was worse than the one Naruto originally owned. That's why I was so happy that Tsunade promised to leave this entire floor empty. I wouldn't have to worry about noisy nights and overcrowding the few times I _was_ home, but she probably ran out of room everywhere else and, honestly, I wasn't going to be around for a while anyway. I could deal with it for a week or two. Sighing, I stretched and grabbed my keys, making sure I still had them. I left, with a quiet click. The tenant next to me must have been told that his neighbor was coming back today and was respectfully quiet. I smiled at the door to the unknown neighbor's apartment. My apartment was 310. Neighbor-person's apartment was 312. 311 was vacant across the dingy hallway. I shrugged. Maybe I'll bring a basket of fruit by after I get shopping over and done-with…

-X-

Not surprisingly, I met Ino at the beauty supply store while looking for shampoo.

"FOREHEAD GIRL!" She squealed and, refreshingly I squealed back, calling her a pig. I had missed her bubbly happiness. The cashier looked at us thoughtfully. It was rare to see shinobi happy after a war.

"You're finally back!" She was in her casual clothes, I noted, definitely off-duty. She wore a simple, but curve-defining, purple, quarter-sleeve tunic that showed her freakin' ginormous tits off, as usual, and form-fitting nin-pants that stopped just at her calf, paired with black sandals. Her hair was up in its every-day sleek, blonde tail but her bangs were shorter and further swept aside. I thought they looked cuter that way and smiled when I noticed them. Sai caught up and smiled at me as well, waving.

"Sakura." He grinned with open arms, expecting the hug.

I wiggled out of Ino's embrace to tackle my former teammate.

"Sai!" I squeezed him till his pale face turned blue.

"Okay, you're killing me." He tapped two fingers onto my shoulder. Heh Heh… he tapped out quick this time…

"How are you guys doing?" I asked them. They stood next to each other… oddly close. I looked from left to right and narrowed my eyes at Ino just slightly, before my blonde friend stuck her tongue out and spoke.

"Well, actually. I moved up in T&I with Sai's help. I learned how to heal minds. It's really cool!" She informed, just to keep me up-to-date.

"How to heal minds?" Now Ino had my attention.

"Well… after the war, Sai mentioned it would be amazing if you and I could combine our efforts into healing the ninja that had psychosis and severe ptsd… I kinda put my iryo-skills and shintenshin-skills together at the suggestion. The technique is still green, but Tsunade approved. I just got promoted to senior psycho-analyst last week! It was an early birthday gift!" Ino grinned, avoiding the fact that she had to do this on her own because I wasn't there. Also…

Shit. Her birthday. I totally forgot about it. I'm an awful friend. Sai seemed to catch on to my look of absolute horror while Ino was busy grinning away. He nodded. I subtly nodded back. It was a silent agreement to go gift shopping for her together.

"Wow, time flies so fast…" I smoothed over, recovering the split second she was at attention again.

"I know. I can't wait till they throw my party! It's going to be so much fun! I'm finally 21!" She jumped in excitement and I had to realize that in a few months' time… it would be my birthday too. Jashin damn it, I'm almost 21 too… I'm still not married… have no hope of having any kids… Ugh… I can't even find a single guy that I can stand.

"Anyway, I'm gonna stop at your apartment later tonight for a sleepover! You can't say no!" Ino threatened cutely.

I thought of my poor, unfortunate, and respectful next door neighbor and shook my head.

"We did that last time I came back. How about I go over to your place tomorrow instead?"

"Oh right, you just got back today, right? You must be exhausted… Oh well, I'll just keep you up tomorrow then!" She grinned. "See ya then, forehead!"

Sai waved as Ino dragged him away. But he shot a few hand signals from behind as they were walking. Tomorrow morning. 6 am. Market.

Gotcha Sai. He looked back. I nodded a confirmation and left.

-X-

I was just done meditating and working on incrementally masking my chakra when I heard the soft click of my new neighbor's door. Whoever they were, they were quiet. I could respect that. They were brave for knowing they were moving in next to me. I had this floor to myself previously, presumably because no one else wanted to share it with me. It's not like I was everyone's favorite person when I came back. But the fifth was probably running out of room and placed someone there anyway. It was probably another anbu like me or just a forgiving villager. Maybe they were quiet out of respect because they knew it was me, or maybe they were quiet out of fear or maybe they didn't even know they were living next to me. Whatever. Either way they were quietly making dinner, not making any more noise than absolutely necessary.

Chop. Chop. Chop. Rustling sounds. This person had a strong hand. Judging by the sound they were cutting a fruit. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. The sounds were smooth, not grating. They were accurate with their hands as well. Definitely, possibly, a ninja. Or maybe a cook.

Chop. Chop. Chop.

Peel. Peel. Peel. Peel.

Cut. Cut.

Chop. Chop. Chop.

More rustling sounds, like cardboard.

I wondered what the hell they were making, when my own stomach grumbled loudly.

Food. Now.

So I left… quietly.

-X-

I knocked another three times and waited. No lights were on inside the apartment. Whoever my mysterious neighbor was, he or she had left while I was cooking. Maybe the smells from my small kitchen made the person hungry. So whatever, I left the disposable, wooden bento box inside the cardboard with the sliced fruit, meat, veggies and rice in front of the apartment door. Hopefully, they'd be back soon. If they live here, then they probably don't have much money to buy food, so maybe it'll make their day when they come home to find a nice dinner box waiting for them. I dropped my thank you note onto the box and went back into my own apartment to eat and read a drama/romance I picked up at the store, just 'cause I was getting tired of the medical texts.

"The Story of Haro and Ashura, the Warrior Princess…" I mumbled to myself. This was supposed to be set in a different world where chakra didn't exist. I started mindlessly digging my chopsticks into my meal as I kept the solid book open with my other hand, sitting at my kitchen table. Eventually, about ten minutes later, my ears picked up the soft sound of footsteps. My neighbor was back. The door opened and closed and I tiptoed as stealthily as possible to see if he or she had picked up the box. I smiled and went back to reading and eating when I realized that they did.

-X-

Hn. What a surprise. The letter isn't threatening and there are no paper bombs inside the box. Just a dinner and "thank you for being quiet" note.

"_Sincerely…your next door neighbor"_ It was a female's handwriting. So my next door neighbor is a woman who can make dinner look way more appetizing than the take-out soup I bought. I looked at my soup, sitting forlornly at my round, clean kitchen table, and at the tempting dinner box filled with balanced nutrition in my hand. I can tell the food was made with care and appreciation. I looked at the wall. It was a stupid thing to do. I was no Hyuuga, so I couldn't see through it but I wanted to at least _see _who was kind enough to make a dinner box for their unkown neighbor. Should I go next door and knock? Personally thank them?

Then, I realized how weird that would be, and how terrified the poor woman would be once she saw me face to face. She was obviously a woman who worked at a restaurant for a living… it would be pointless to cause a scene. I shook my head and grabbed the to-go tomato soup and threw it into the empty mini-fridge. I sat in the warm light of the kitchen and opened the wooden box all the way. Was I paranoid that it was poisoned? At first yes, but then, who cares? It wouldn't work on me anyway. Not some poison made by a cook, at least. Plus, someone who wanted to poison me would probably try harder to make this dinner look way more edible. This was thrown together as she made her own dinner. I could tell. It wasn't _entirely _on purpose. It was an afterthought: "I should thank that guy for not making so much noise". I shrugged, munching away… rather quickly. I was hungry and this was good. It was better than anything I'd had in a while…

-X-

I finished half of the book by the time I realized the rest of my food was cold. Shit. I put the book down and scarfed the rest of the meal like a wild animal, but who cares? No one was around to hear or see me. As long as I didn't eat like this in public it didn't matter. Thoughts of the princess wielding a sword into battle against her lover were swirling around in my head as I automatically did my dishes as quietly as possible, and went to shower.

-X-

I was lying in bed when I heard it, the sounds of water hitting tile. Just how thin were these walls? Had she heard me shower earlier too? My blood heated at the thought of a naked woman just beyond the wall behind my head. Great… and now I'd never sleep. When was the last time I had sex? Ah, that's right. It was with that dark-haired girl from some border town on the way to Iron... was it three weeks ago…? Whatever… She was a goddess. I burnt that condom once it was done, right? I closed my eyes, the memory flashing before my eyes.

"_Why would you do that?" _That's right… she was under the covers, but her breasts were still there… practically begging to be touched again, the tiny nipples hard and still dark pink from when I last sucked on them. I looked away. Temptation was horrendous when you were ready to go again…

"_Trust me you don't want kids with my genes."_ At least that part wasn't a lie… 

She had given me the information I wanted. It was time to go. I left. 'Never saw her again. I couldn't get her long, black, wavy hair out of my mind. Her violet eyes that looked like gemstones…

"Fuck." I cursed quietly and sat up to get rid of the wood just as the water next door squeaked off.

-X-

After dressing into red pajama shorts and a comfortable, old t-shirt of Naruto's I threw myself into bed… I fell asleep and was in a dream before my head hit the pillow…

_Faces and voices… there were so many familiar ones as I passed people by in this town… which town was I in? Which country? Oh that's right… chakra doesn't exist here… oh well… I wonder if I can visit the princess… _

_When I went to the castle… the one on the throne was… it wasn't the princess I thought I knew… It wasn't Ashura-sama it was me… but a much weirder, big-boobed and lighter-pink-haired version of me with prettier, blander green eyes. _

_Um, Hi. I started, strangely smoothing my plain dress in front of this goddess of a woman._

"_Oh you're here. Good. Come look at the attack plans. We have to kill the one with the eyes." She spoke nonchalantly. _

"_Wait, you mean Haro?" I took into detail the beautiful, crimson dress she wore. The Sakura that wasn't me glared at me. _

"_No, not Haro. The one with the eyes." She insisted. _

"_Eyes? What eyes? Whatever, it doesn't matter. Haro loves you." That was all that mattered. Haro loved her. _

"_What?" She gave a startled response. Her beautiful, long hair was pulled half-up-half-down in an intricate design that had silver woven into it. Was I able to look that pretty? _

"_Haro. Remember? The one you're fighting against. Your childhood friend. He's in love with you. You should love him back. It'll end the war." _

"_War? End the war?" Her eyes glittered in malice. Now I was scared, panicked actually as the other me drew a sword, it was curved and different than any sword I'd ever seen. _

_That's not me… that's not me… I repeated to myself. But I was lost without my chakra. _

"_I LOVE WAR!" _

_She swung the sword. _

-X-

I awoke to the sound of a cry. And quick, panicked breaths that sounded almost next to my ear. I rolled over stealthily and pressed my head against the wall. Was her bed, directly next to mine? Opposite of this wall? I listened to see if there were any intruders or anyone at all that would hurt the stranger that showed me kindness. There were just quick breaths, something she mumbled and I heard her get up, clumsily to go use the bathroom. She flushed, ran the sink for a while and returned to her bed. I sighed. So my neighbor was a cook with nightmares… but we all had nightmares after the war. Sometimes I dreamt about Madara, coming after me. I'm always in hell in my nightmares. I'm always watching Naruto. The fire never hurts him. Sometimes he's with Hinata. Sometimes he's with Sakura… Sometimes I'm watching Itachi. And he's happy. Sometimes Itachi is in hell with me. Sometimes Madara is chasing us through hell and we're little and powerless again…

Fucking nightmares...

-X-

What a weird dream… I read way too much of that book at once. I don't love war. I shuddered remembering the recent one, how I couldn't save Neji… how I couldn't save some of those people I tried so hard to. It was the worst when a life died at your hands. A single tear streamed down my cheek as I got emotional again. I didn't want to cry and wake up my neighbor, but I was so, so glad I saved Naruto. Of all the people that died… at least I saved Naruto. He was alive and happy and living the life he deserved. I clasped my hands together and prayed to whoever was listening.

"Please… if any good spirits are there… please just keep Naruto happy… Please.."

I whispered quietly.

Fucking nightmares…

-X-

The next morning, I rose right before dawn. I dressed quickly in a pair of long, form-fitting black pants tucked into nin boots and my signature, red and white Haruno v-neck, then brushed my teeth and stealthily made my way out of my apartment. There was a note tacked onto my door. It read "Thank you". I stuffed it into my pocket and made my way through the streets of Konoha to meet Sai in the market. I was re-tying my red headband on top of my head when I met my best friend's boyfriend in the street, standing next to a half-asleep, zombified Naruto. Who was drooling on his shoulder unattractively. I approached the two and shook Naruto awake.

"Naruto… Oi! Naruto!" I tried not to laugh at how comical the blonde looked.

He snorted twice before he raised a fist and then blinked away the sleep.

"Ugh, auh.. whaa? Oh… Yo… Sakura-chan…" His voice was raspy and still tinged with sleep.

I smirked at Naruto. He was _not_ a morning person. I giggled. This was just like old times, when me, Naruto and Sai would hang out before the war.

"Come on, we have to get Ino gifts." I dragged Naruto along, thinking it was a miracle that he wasn't falling asleep while walking.

"I was thinking about hiding the gifts at your apartment." Sai mentioned as he caught up and walked on my other side. I smiled at him and nodded. That was a great idea. Ino's birthday was only a couple days away. I was sleeping at her house tonight and I'd just have to keep her away from my place for two days after that. I walked past a couple of clothing stores and realized I'd have to get myself a outfit…so I could dump all the guys she'd try to send me home with. I thought about my quiet neighbor and smiled. That person was very respectful. I could never disturb him or her by bring someone home late. That was just rude.

-X-

I was bored by lunchtime. What the hell was taking Naruto so long? We were supposed to spar today. A toad suddenly appeared on the summoning table at my night-stand. It dropped a slimy scroll out of its mouth and I smirked. It was about time… The orange frog disappeared with a poof and I unrolled the scroll still dripping with juice all of the wood of my table.

"Sorry I canceled on you yesterday. Hinata needed help, you know how it is. Leave as soon as you get this. Training ground 3. Baa-chan gave me the day off. – Naruto" I mumbled the words aloud and rolled up the scroll, tossing it onto my bed. I double-checked my weapons pouches and made sure I had kusanagi on my back. Somehow, I missed wearing the thick black Uchiha shirts I used to wear all the time. This one was old, but simple. Perfect for training because I knew it was going to get ruined. I hadn't had a decent fight since the war. I tucked my dark grey pants into my nin boots at the door and headed out… but what I saw… surprised me…

-X-

Sai had bought Ino a beautiful pair of blue pearl earrings on my suggestion. Naruto ignored my suggestion and bought her a joke-gift that was sure to offend her. It was a book. "How to be a better girlfriend" was the title and I promised she would throw it at him at some point and that same title would be imprinted on his face. Naruto didn't care. He thought it would be funny to get back at her for "abusing" Sai by making him go shopping with her. Poor Ino… she must have been lonely to take a _guy_ shopping. I felt guilty then and decided to make up for my poor qualities as a best friend by buying her a diamond necklace in the shape of a lotus.

Once we had all the gifts wrapped, I made my way to my parent's house and checked up on how they were doing with their new hotel business. Their inns around the fire country were doing marvelously well and they conveniently managed to bug me about finding a boyfriend "like Ino-chan did". After the annoying conversation about how "busy" I was (too busy to have a boyfriend) and after eating down a whole bucket of ice strawberry ice cream with them, I hugged them and left. Now, all I had to do was stow away the gifts somewhere in my apartment (which I had a plan for that, of course) and then go train to burn off the fat of the ice cream I just ate, and afterwards, check out if the hospital is still running like a well-oiled machine.

Now, I was extremely content to do all these things, wondering if my neighbor was home as I fiddled with the key and the lock… until my neighbor walked out of his apartment… It was then that I realized as we stood there, staring dumbly at each other that the years must have relaxed Uchiha Sasuke (Yes, _Uchiha Sasuke_) because he had somehow _allowed _himself to stare dumbly back at me… for a few precious seconds of course…

"Yo, Sakura." He greeted coolly, back to his _stupid, insanely beautiful_ neutral face. I turned away. Play it cool Sakura, I told myself. Play it cool. Forget you made him dinner. Just forget that.

"Hi." I answered dryly. He didn't deserve that dinner… not after he left me on a bench and didn't apologize for an entire eight years afterwards… He had aided the bad people… even if for a short time. Madara… he had killed so many… My own shisho had almost died at his hand… Finally I got the dumb key into the lock, jiggled the handle the way it needed to be jiggled and moved inside, gifts in hand.

"The dinner box was good. More protein would have been better." He mentioned slyly as he walked past. The bastard… I almost spun around to curse at him. He could go suck on someone's penis if he wanted more protein! The nerve of that jerk!

"Right. Thanks for being quiet." Whatever. Better to be civil. I shut the door.

Fuck. WHY on _earth_ was Uchiha Sasuke my next door neighbor… _conveniently _right next door… When there's a whole floor that I used to have to _myself!? _A sunny blonde who liked to play stupid so he could manipulate things from the hokage's office flashed across my mind. Naruto… Of course… After denying him ramen with his old team these last four years… he had gotten back at me… in the _worst _way.

Naruto… you're going to fucking die…

-X-

Naruto is going to fucking die today. I didn't realize how quickly I was moving through the street. I must have looked murderous to some people because a few civilians whispered quietly to each other as I walked past and many just moved the hell out of my way.

I was worried about _Sakura_ waking up from a nightmare. I had eaten _Sakura's _fucking _annoyingly good_ dinner box. I had gotten horny at the thought of _Sakura _showering…! Ugh… My next door neighbor is Sakura. Great. Fucking great. It's amazing it took me so long to notice. Amazing. Of _course _that idiot would manipulate my housing situation. He placed me _conveniently _right. Next. To. Her.

I smacked my forehead like a madman in the middle of the street. I had _taunted _her about how good the dinner box was. What the _fuck _is wrong with me!? What the _fuck_ is wrong with her? She was so aloof, so… not like the Sakura I remember. Her hair wasn't as shiny, it was long. She had gotten curvier, her waist was thinner and her hips… had definitely gotten wider. Where were all these things when I saw her in the office before? Sure, I noted the change in her attitude, but… her body? I ran a hand through my bangs. _Stupid _Sakura. She was always _there_.

-X-

Something dangerous is coming… it was like a sixth sense, warning me. I grinned psychotically to myself. Finally. Teme had noticed. Oh man… today's fight was going to be sooooo good.

BOOM!

I jumped from the toppling tree I was just in, and found that Sakura-chan had gotten to me first. Barbarically, she tackled me and was now sitting on me. My hands were up in surrender and I was laughing at the anger in her eyes. There she was, the girl I missed. I haven't seen this much life in her eyes since the war ended!

"NARUTOOOOOO!" She shouted. The birds flew away from the trees. Aw man… This is gonna be great! She pounded her fist into my face. Heh heh… "my" face. Poof! I appeared behind her as she jumped to her feet and spun around, sharp as ever, not even shocked that what she punched into oblivion was my clone. Anbu may have dulled her personality a little but it sure sharpened her sensory abilities.

She was _fuming_! It was great. I grinned again.

"Relax, Sakura-chan." I tried to ease with a slight laugh I couldn't help but let into my voice. Too bad baa-chan wasn't here to see this.

"You… _You _put him there, when I specifically said I wanted to be alone! _Forever! _What part for 'Alone' and 'Forever' don't you understand!?" She as seething, but there was hurt in her eyes now as she was pulling away from the rage that boiled through her veins. I felt bad so I frowned.

"It wasn't just me. It was baa-chan too. And I don't know what's up with the two of you avoiding each other like the plague, but I'm sick of it. I can't hang out with you because you're always gone avoiding Konoha for some reason and I can't hang out with him because he's always gone avoiding everyone in this village that hates him. He needs a friend and so do I." I explained myself clearly, like baa-chan had taught me. It was the only way to calm Sakura-chan, but this time it didn't work. She was so sad and angry and frustrated, she was shaking and I could taste, _smell_ her emotions. Actually, they kinda made me sick to my stomach but it needed to be done… Enough was enough.

"I'm so mad at you, Naruto. You just don't get it!" With that, she turned around, probably sensing teme speeding towards here too. She was gone before I could raise a hand and speak to stop her. Her chakra completely disappeared and Teme's voice was absolutely fucking _vicious_ when he showed up behind me, just seconds later.

"Explain Sakura living right next door to me when there's a whole empty floor of apartments in that building you could have put her in, _Naruto_." Sasuke had his arms crossed and he did _not_ look happy. I grinned at him too. He was peeved, but nowhere near as mad and hurt as Sakura-chan.

-X-

So that's the first chapter. I kind of liked it. I thought it was going to be boring, but as soon as I got into writing from Naruto's point of view things got fun _and_ hectic. Lol Tell me what you think!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto ™. All rights reserved. This fiction is purely fan-made and I make no money off of it.

See 'ya Later, Space Cowboy!


	2. This Means War

KISEKI

|2|

WOW! I'm so surprised I already have several followers. Holy crow. Unexpected, but appreciated! I guess SasuSaku is really popular. I'm glad I finally broke free of my block and was able to write them. I couldn't stop thinking about this story. It was like an addiction. It didn't help that it was exceptionally rainy and grey out so all I wanted to do was stay at home, cuddle with kitty, drink tea and write. But no, I'm a hairstylist on a Saturday. Tch. This story is surprisingly easy to update. First person was SO easy to get into I don't know why I was so afraid of it in the first place. Anyway, let's get going! Thanks again for reading and enjoy!

-X-

Angrily, I marched. And I marched and marched and marched. Should I go to Tsunade? No… that will just… get something destroyed, probably. I need a good fight. Faces flew by as I swiftly moved through the crowd. I knew most of them, but most of them remembered my temper enough not to bother me. I can't _believe _Naruto! Didn't he get it!? I wanted to become someone! I wanted to do something amazing other than just be a medic! I wanted to be impressive so I could walk all. Over. That. Smug. Uchiha. BUT NO. Naruto always had his own damned plans. Now I have to interact with Sasuke _before_ I stop feeling like I wasn't good enough for him; _before _I get over the fact that I actually wasn't good enough for him. I know, I should just fucking move on from that, but screw it; I'm a girl and I have feelings and they were hurt and I'm still upset. Deal with it.

What the _hell_; I can't even move out now. Moving out would be stepping down and letting Uchiha Sasuke have MY, yes _my _apartment _floor. _Think about it. Him. Smug little_, good-looking_ Uchiha Sasuke. With an _entire _floor. To _himself._ No. That wasn't happening. I wasn't going to let it happen. Why give him a floor: So he can leave some other poor, stupid girl on a bench and _smugly _return home because he has his own _floor?_ No. Oh, no no no _no_. I have to stay there. Even if I really don't _want _to. It's a matter of holding my ground now.

Naruto, you asshole… you totally just _betrayed _me.

For a while I stomped around. I stomped all the way up to the top of the hokage monument and screamed "fuck you" right from the top of Hashirama Senju's head because _fuck _Uchiha Sasuke's _stupid _ancestor. That's why.

…

…

… I only did it because I knew no one would hear me. Except maybe Sai, whose apartment was nearby. But whatever. I was pissed. Beyond aggravated was the key phrase. Naruto didn't just stomp all over my feelings and the time I needed to get my life together, he started a freakin' turf war. And here I was, starting to think that maybe I lived next to some hot guy that would totally treat me right that may have even been a ninja because he was so quiet. Life hates me. Someone, somewhere with some cosmic ability hates me. A lot. Because my "hot" and "possibly sweet" next door neighbor, not only turned out to be a hot _ninja_, but he turned out to be douchey, self-interested, selfish, _Uchiha Sasuke_. I fell flat on my butt and hugged my knees to my chest, grabbing my overgrown hair into my fists.

"Mmmmraaaaaaaagh!" I had to calm down. There had to be something to do. I was just in the Lightning and Cloud countries and yeah, the guys there were pretty good-looking, but none of them were "bring home to Konoha and show off" material. None of them were "Look I'm too good for you, Sasuke, but here's a guy that _totally _deserves me!" I chewed my lip. Suna. I have to go to Suna. I can't stay here and deal with this shit. I have to somehow convince Tsunade to send me to Suna, and _soon_. Should I write to Gaara personally? Gaara would understand, right? We became good friends after the war. We even wrote to each other sometimes… I mean, I haven't heard from him in like a couple of months but… he'd get me out of Konoha if Tsunade couldn't, or rather _wouldn't_, right? Tears pricked my eyes and my chest sunk to my stomach and my stomach sunk to my intestines. 

Stupid Sasuke. He was always so smug! "The dinner box was good. More protein would have been better. Hn!" I mocked, holding my nose high in the air, and then laughed like a patient with mild psychosis. Oh you smug, holier-than-though son of a bitch… To tell you the truth… I don't know why I was so mad at this point. I don't know why I was so vindictive towards Sasuke. I was honestly starting to scare myself a little. Had his need for revenge poisoned my mind somewhere along the way and made me just like him?

Get a grip, Sakura… Maybe… maybe the best thing was just to ignore him. Maybe I should just be the mature one and live my life. If Sasuke wanted to be "friends" or whatever… why not? Why should I let what I went through for him bother me? He's a teammate. What if it were Sai in his position? What if it were Sai who betrayed us and hurt us? He almost did at one point anyway…

I frowned at the city. If it were Sai, who had become such an integral part of our team, I'd forgive him… So… why is it so hard to let up on Sasuke?

**Because he's not the type who responds to kindness… Let's show 'em hell**_**… **_

Great… I must really be stressed out to need to talk to myself again…

-X-

Going back to my apartment was awkward, but I wouldn't let it show. Smirking, I decided I'd never let it show. Ever. Those few milliseconds of surprise when Sasuke walked out of his door are all I'm granting him. This will be the last time I walked anywhere chained down by my own, silly past and the feelings I used to have for the man. I strode right past his door, smirking at the number: 312. No Sasuke, I won't crucify myself and feel like a failure anymore because you left me on a bench. I'll just show you what you lost, instead.

I unlocked my door and grabbed my nin-pack. I dumped my clothes into it and some shampoo and a book, all thoughts of visiting the hospital were postponed and gone. After I got my stuff for Ino's sleepover ready, I went to the market and bought baking supplies because screw it, I was making cupcakes. Ino and I were gonna get fat and then train all day tomorrow to burn it all off... Whether she liked it or not.

As my cupcakes were finished cooling and I was done making my homemade icing, I heard Sasuke's footsteps. They were heavier. Naruto had obviously given him a beating. Good. I hope Naruto was beaten up too. The footsteps continued on… but they stopped at my door. My heart stopped with his steps and I carefully, stealthily placed down the plastic tube I was using to ice my cupcakes.

Knockknockknock!

Like some sort of machine, I turned and walked to the front door, on complete auto-pilot. I opened it. There he stood. A quick mili-second glance over him and I knew he was bleeding all over the molding to my door.

"Can you hea—

"No."

I shut the door in his face. Go heal yourself. You didn't apologize for anything you did the day after the war ended so why should I heal you after you got messed up by Naruto of all people? You don't deserve the courtesy.

"Sakura." His voice sounded dangerous, even though my door was blocking it. It sounded so dangerous, it made me shudder as I was walking back to my icing on the counter. I was crazy. Surely, I'd gone mad denying to have my hands all over the sexiest ninja in Konoha… but it's high time Sasuke realized I stopped caring a long, long time ago.

"I'm not your nanny. If you need to be someone to blow on your cut go find an iryo-nin at the hospital who's on duty." I calmly spoke from the kitchen and went back to icing my cakes. He wasn't going to think he could use me because of what I said when I was twelve. No way. I'm damn near 21. It's not happening. It's too late for that.

"Hn." Aggravated. He was mad. Trudge…trudge…trudge. Click. Half-slam! More scuffling sounds. The pipes squeaked. He was taking a shower. I smirked in satisfaction, like a fat man eating the last dango left at the stand. I won this round. I was going to make Uchiha Sasuke understand that my heart was not for him to use and break anymore.

-X-

Once my batch of twelve cupcakes were placed into two neat boxes of six, I did dishes, cleaned up and went to go shower. Confidently, I stripped naked and stuck my tongue out at the wall. Stupid Sasuke was probably brooding in his bedroom and he'd _never _get a piece of this. EVER.

-X-

Sakura was in the bathroom… about to shower… excellent. This was the moment I was waiting for… this would be the highlight of my night. This… this was for slamming the door in my face when all I wanted was to maybe talk again after four years of not really speaking. Yes, revenge was worthless… that much I had learned was true, but not when it was about petty things like this. I smirked as she turned the hot water on. Then I went into my bathroom… and I flushed the toilet… and waited… and waited and…

"AAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

SQUELCH-THUMP!

I chuckled to myself at my success. Sakura had fallen out of her shower. Good. Either the water had gotten too hot or too cold. Whichever it was, I didn't care. If she wanted to be heartless, I'd be heartless right back.

"SAAAASSSUKKKEEEEE!" She screeched in aggravation, and my evil grin must have widened. If I was completely honest, I'd have to admit that it was fun to screw around like this. Really. I hadn't done anything like this since Itachi was still alive and our family was still intact. I listened and waited. Good, she wasn't coming after me. She must have gone back into the shower.

*Flush*.

She squealed again, but I kept flushing. I deduced that the water must have ran cold, if she were able to still stand in it. Whatever, she was uncomfortable and that was all I wanted at the moment. After a few minutes of terrorizing her with my constant flushing, she had turned off her water. I smirked and went back into my bedroom. I heard her mumbling things under her breath, but nothing intelligible.

-X-

Stupid, _fucking _Uchiha! Leave it to him to be a child and get right back at me for something stupid! Leave it to him to turn my victory back around on me! What was his _deal_!? Ugh! I threw on a fluttery, pale-yellow summer dress, but I was still quivering from the cold. What a _jerk_! I stepped into white and yellow sandals and grabbed my hairbrush and cupcakes on my way out. Smirking, I stuck my finger into leftover chocolate icing and stealthily rubbed it all over the bottom of his doorknob, then shut my door decisively to make sure he didn't suspect anything. Next time he was walking in, he'd have a nice, sticky surprise waiting for him. Jerkface. I stuck my tongue out at his door and made my way out of my apartment complex towards the Yamanaka compound, licking the tip of my finger clean.

-X-

Mad that she hadn't even pounded on the door to get back at me (why? I don't even know, because why should I care that she wasn't reacting, right?), I pulled my sandals on and decided to go out for dinner. It was getting late and I was hungry after nearly ripping Naruto's throat out… while he was struggling to avoid me doing so all day. Now, let's get a few things straight. I wasn't necessarily angry about Naruto putting Sakura on my floor… right next to my apartment… I was just angry that he didn't tell me. Sakura was a kunoichi and she was a danger to the privacy that I preferred. I wouldn't have minded her on my floor, but… he had put her _right. Next. Door. _Why? Plus, I knew there was a motive behind that decision that he refused to tell me, no matter how many chidoris almost split his limbs from his body. It was aggravating not knowing the answer to something I wanted to know. I hated not being told about things that clearly involved me for obvious reasons, of course.

The worst thing was, I couldn't even move out. All of the new apartments that were being built still had people—civilians— that needed to fill them and I was an anbu that was gone sixty percent of the time. Relocating wasn't considered a top priority for me. I mean, of course I could always just _buy _and reserve a house or a new apartment that was already being built; I had gained access to my family's suspended finances once I was reinstated as a Konoha citizen and shinobi and could technically just retire if I wanted to, but that was stupid and unnecessary and Tsunade obviously helped Naruto orchestrate… whatever plan they had come up with, and she would probably put a hefty price on asserting my own needs above the needs of the Konoha civilians. She'd probably flat-out reject my idea to move elsewhere. Whatever. I didn't feel like moving my stuff anyway so I'd have to deal with my ex-teammate living next door until Naruto was done having his fun.

After circling around it a few times, I decided I'd eat at a barbeque stand tonight. The smells made my stomach growl so I wasted no more time with my thoughts and walked in to order some takeout. Choji's parents had apparently opened up this restaurant in their name and had mentioned that I was welcome. Thankfully these people didn't seem to mind my presence and some even smiled at me and greeted me by name. Tonight was going to be a long, long night of thinking and meditating.

"Yo Sasuke." I felt a hand on my shoulder. There stood Kakashi. I held up a lazy hand in greeting as I scanned the menu. My former sensei was having none of it and decided to drag me by my collar to a table. Ugh… here we go… Bonding time with my first sensei…

-X-

"Wait, whaaaaaat!" Ino shrieked, almost dropping my cupcakes as we walked past the gates of her clan's compound. I smelled the familiar scent of myrrh incense the Yamanakas often meditated around and smiled. Ino's house was always like a second home to me.

"Yep. Naruto moved Sasuke next door to me." I re-stated.

"Okaaaay… but that doesn't explain why you're shivering…" Ino said slowly as the shock wore off, but I could tell her mind was already prowling across all of the possible reasons Naruto wanted to move Sasuke of all people next door to me.

"Ugh… that… that requires details…" I responded, not wanting to relive the cold shower that I had to take at the mercy of my _asshole_ next door neighbor.

Ino chuckled and knocked on someone's door. I wondered why we were stopping at someone's house when hers was at the heart of the compound.

"Ino?" I queried, letting the confusion show in my voice.

"Shh!" She hissed. Just then, the sliding rice paper door rolled open and a man with wispy, wild light-blonde hair and green eyes opened the door. He bowed to Ino, dressed in a simple white t-shirt paired with black cargo shorts. He was muscular and had a tiny vertical scar on the bottom of his left eye. Wow… who was this guy?

"Oi, Suchiru!" Ino greeted. The man, around our age maybe a year or two older seemed to be a close cousin of Ino's, if the hair was anything to go by.

"Ah, hello Ino-sama and the _famous_ Haruno Sakura-san. A pleasure to meet you in person." He spoke calmly and bowed. Flustered that he actually knew who I was, I bowed back. I'd never get used to being well-known, being the nobody I was compared to Naruto and Sasuke practically my entire life.

"Sakura made a few extra cupcakes. Do you want some?" Ino explained ever-so-sweetly.

I glared daggers at my best friend. That pig! I wanted to gorge on cupcakes and cry about how I was stronger than anything Naruto could throw at me! How dare she just go and ruin it!?

Suchiru-san chuckled warmly at my expression and I found that I liked his laugh. He had a deep, smooth tone that seemed familiar; I just couldn't place where I'd heard his voice before.

"I'll take the box and pass it around." He grinned, knowing exactly why Ino didn't want to eat six cupcakes by herself. "'Can't have you gaining weight before your birthday, can we?" He shook his head as if the notion was ridiculous to even himself and his locks of blonde danced around his face. God he was sexy. Where was this sexy cousin of Ino's last time I was here? Is it hot all of a sudden or is that just me?

"Thanks. Don't be afraid to chow on a couple of those yourself. I know you like sweets." She winked and then grinned evilly and poked his six pack that I suddenly, _really _wanted to see.

He narrowed his emeralds at her remark and suddenly, I saw the ninja come out from behind the angel's face.

"Shhh… the anbu can't know…." He deadpanned seriously and I almost thought he had meant it, but just like that he was grinning again as Ino and I cracked up at the joke. Casually, he leaned his muscled frame against the doorway, opened one of the boxes and pulled out a chocolate-iced cupcake… with pink sprinkles. I was embarrassed by my pastry, as it was obviously _not _made for a man. He smiled regardless as he dexterously pulled apart the "cup" part of the little cake and bit into it like it was no big deal being a manly ninja, eating girly sweets in front of girls and being quite possibly the sexiest shinobi in the village next to Uchiha Sasuke as he did so. Grrr… Sasuke… I glared at the rice paper door. The memory of my ex-teammate always ruined everything.

"Mmmm these are good." He commented jovially after he swallowed. "Anyway, you probably wanna go to Nana-san's house; the kids are all having a karaoke night over there and I'm sure they'd be more than happy to get a go at one of these." He explained, then chuckled. "Pink." He murmured, probably talking about the sprinkles. I blushed again. Stop dissecting my baked goods with those sexy eyes! It's not fair! "I didn't know the best doctor in the shinobi world was also the best baker as well." He complemented suddenly and I was surprised…

"That's Sakura for ya!" Ino grinned, mercifully saving me from embarrassing myself before I could open my mouth and say something stupid in response. Thank you Ino! "See ya later, Suchiru!"

"Thanks again, Ino, Sakura-san. These are wonderful." He spoke, the utmost sincerity in his tone.

"Thanks… I mean, you're welcome." I shook my head, bowed once more and left with Ino as he smiled one last time and shut his door.

"Ooh, I think Suchiru liiiiiikes youuuuuu." She cooed in a stealthy whisper and I didn't hesitate to reach out and punch her arm.

"Stop it; why do you have to say things like that in that way! I'm having a crisis!" I reminded her in a hiss. Ino giggled as we ducked down a narrow street and passed several more houses.

-X-

After unloading four more cupcakes and saving the last two for ourselves— which, admittedly, it was the smarter thing to do rather than stuff six of them down each of our throats— we headed over to Ino's house where I greeted her mother in the kitchen, and caught up on life here and there. After chit-chatting we headed back up to Ino's grand room that had a king-sized bed atop a wooden platform (for massive sleepovers, I realized) and a small library of magazines and romance novels in one corner and a TV directly across from the massive bed, which took up the middle of the relatively square room. In another corner were her walk-in closet and vanity table and mirror. I was mildly jealous that Ino was so accomplished as a female and as a kunoichi. In many ways, she _still _had me beat. I probably _still_ looked like a skinny boy with overgrown hair next to her, even _if _my boobs had thankfully (like Tsunade-sama said they would) grown into full-B's. I sighed at my lack of femininity. I _had_ to be low-maintenance to be a good kunoichi. That was it. It was either one thing or the other and I couldn't balance both, unfortunately.

I plopped onto her bed in an unladylike starfish position and squeaked when she threw a purple sweater at me. I gratefully took the soft article and covered myself with it like a blanket, though I was warmer now, thanks to that obnoxiously handsome Suchiru. Suchiru… his name meant "steel". He was made to be deadly, but he was so friendly and had such a great attitude, I smiled thinking about him. The world needed more people like that, people who couldn't and wouldn't let the world break them down… people like Naruto.

"So why do you look like world is caving in on you, forehead girl, and why are you cold?" She got right down to the bottom of it; leave it to Ino.

"Okay. Naruto decided to get back at me for not having ramen with him and Sasuke and decided to move Sasuke into the apartment next to mine." I almost groaned, remembering the situation I was in.

Ino tried to hold back a laugh but failed. I glared at her as she giggled away.

"Shut _up_ it's _not_ funny." I stressed and she held her hands up in silent surrender.

"Okay, okay… go on... what happened?" She urged.

"Well, I don't know, you know how he makes me feel crappy about myself. I don't want to be around someone who reminds me constantly just by existing that I was never good enough for him, even as a friend." I shrugged and Ino quieted because the conversation had gotten serious; emotional. She understood and I was so grateful for it.

"So whatever, I was making cupcakes because I was upset because Naruto basically betrayed me. And then Sasuke knocked on my door." I glared at her crème colored ceiling.

"Ooh. This sounds like a good story… go on…" Of course, Ino would get excited anyway.

"It's not a good story. He was beat up and had the nerve to ask me to heal him. Mind you, he only had a few petty injuries; it wasn't _that_ bad. Could you believe the audacity he has? After leaving me on a bench and almost killing me he has the balls to ask me to heal him like I'm his personal nurse. After _four_ years. Who does that?" I asked, only now realizing how bizarre it was for Sasuke to suddenly just want to interact after four years of completely _not _interacting; like at all. Not even seeing each other's faces.

"Maybe he _wants _you to be his 'personal' nurse." Ino winked and joked lecherously, but I ignored her.

"Anyway, I slammed the door in his face and told him to go to the hospital if he really needed it taken care of that bad, which he didn't. He just went back to his place."

"Okay… that was um, maybe mean, I guess… So how did you get cold? I'm still not getting it…" Now Ino had picked up some kunoichi fashion magazine and was lying on the bed next to me, her blonde hair intertwining with my ratty, pink strands. I grimaced at the memory of what he did to get back at me. Jerk.

"I went to go shower to clean up after the cupcakes and you know what he did Ino?" I was frowning now. Really; someone had cursed me at some point….

I heard her place the magazine down on her stomach and could feel her gaze on me as I spoke.

"He flushed the toilet… the whole way through my shower…" I revealed pathetically.

"AAAAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Ino burst into uncontrollable laughter and I covered my face because Sasuke totally owned me… with a toilet… It was the single most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to me since my life as a professional kunoichi actually began.

"You're lying Sakura, Sasuke-kun's not that funny." She giggled to herself. Ugh, how could she still affectionately call him Sasuke-_kun _ after he just abused me with a toilet amongst everything else he's done to me and Naruto? Stupid Ino. I love her but sometimes I hate her.

"I'm not kidding!" I sat up and glared at her in disbelief and she laughed again.

"So he made you take a cold shower from the comfort of his own bathroom— that's too funny." She commented. "What did you do?" She asked curiously, mirth still in her eyes.

I smirked cruelly like Orochimaru himself.

"I rubbed icing all over the bottom of his doorknob." I spoke, mischievously proud of myself.

"Sakura, you bitch!" Ino backhanded my forearm and I had to laugh.

"What? He deserves what he gets!" I shot back heatedly. It was true!

"What do you think he'll do when he decides to get back at you for messing with his doorknob!? That's not solving anything!"

-X-

"So, so you mean to tell me—

Kakashi was drunk. Wonderful. My sensei was enjoying my reasoning as to why Sakura looked "madder than Tsunade on a good day" when she was walking through the village earlier. Why does it not surprise me that he somehow knew what Naruto had plotted… and is refusing to tell me any extra details as to why Sakura was placed next to me? I sighed. Kakashi was secretive; every bit what a ninja should be. He should get some sort of reward because I couldn't even use my sharingan to pry the information out of him.

"— You mean you _actually _made Sakura-chan take a cold shower? That's hilarious. Naruto's rubbing off on you." Kakashi chuckled as he took another sip of sake from the little sake dish on his side of the table. I sipped from mine and nodded, wondering how he was sipping sake through his mask.

"Wow… that's a serious achievement." He continued. "… And you're still alive? You should be given a medal of honor and bravery." He commented jokingly.

"She deserved it." I responded petulantly. "She slammed the door in my face." I reiterated. Was he not listening earlier or did he just not care that I was disrespected first?

"Maybe you deserved the door in your face." Kakashi was still joking, but there was a deeper inflection in his tone that made me wonder if he was half-serious. I poured myself some warm sake from the bottle into my dish and picked it up, staring into it. Did I deserve that? Well… maybe… I wondered if she was still mad about everything before and during the war…did Sakura want, or rather, _need_ a formal apology from me? Naruto didn't seem to need one, so why did she? I mulled that over in my slightly tipsy haze. But we haven't even spoken since the war ended… she hasn't been around… As a shinobi and a former teammate shouldn't she understand that the past is the past? Life goes on? I glared at the table as I downed my sake. I don't get her. Seriously. What the hell changed about her? She used to be so easy to read and straightforward. Now I can't figure out what the hell is in her head.

…

Why do I even care?

-X-

Later that night I was happy to see that Sakura was gone. I would be at peace tonight, thankfully. I pressed the key into my lock and unlocked my door, but as I turned the knob, something mushy and disgusting made its way in between my fingers. I shuddered at the sensation…

My first thought was…

Shit.

… It was shit.

Because it was brown and it felt _exactly_ like shit. Sakura at some point had actually taken the time to smear _shit_ underneath my doorknob. I couldn't believe it. Seriously? Did she really go so far as to be _disgusting_?

I tensed my abdominal muscles to prevent myself from throwing up. Hurriedly, I kicked open my door and flicked on the lights with my clean hand. I ran to my sink. Some kunoichi's _fucking _shit was on my hand. ON. MY. HAND. I've never been so disgusted in my life. I ran the water in the sink and took a breath to steady my nausea. Gutting enemies was easier than this. I realized that I'd _actually _rather be covered in blood than in shit. Great. No ninja should _ever_ have to come to a conclusion like that.

I glared at the feces on my hand, as I realized that the abominable stuff wasn't coming off as easily as it should for being what it was…

…

…

What kind of weird shit did Haruno Sakura take?

Cautiously, I used my other hand to touch it and realized that it wasn't actually shit. It was chocolate. Specifically, it was fudge of some sort. I brought it closer to my face and smelled it. In the dim light, it still looked like shit, but now, it definitely smelled like chocolate. I tasted it and my face contorted. It was sickeningly sweet. It was chocolate.

Of course. I had seen the cupcakes behind her earlier. Sakura had taken the time to smear _chocolate _underneath my doorknob; Not shit. Thank kami-sama. I didn't know whether to be relieved that it wasn't what I thought it was, or to be angry because now I have chocolate on my hands like some two-year-old caught up in his mother's baking supplies. Growling, I poured some dishwashing liquid and scrubbed the rest of the stuff off. Fucking Sakura… She knew how to be _annoying _as usual…

And to think that I was actually, _really_ thinking about swallowing my pride and formally apologizing to her for everything I did… Yeah right…

"…You wanted a war, Sakura? You got it…" I smirked as I plotted what I was going to do to her apartment…or her, for that matter, next. I had half a mind to squat in front of her door and do my business there next time I had to, but that would be taking it too far. I smirked as a better idea struck my imagination. If she was going to smear her favorite food all over my doorknob, I was going to smear mine all over her door…

-X-

The next morning I made it my priority to go to the hospital and see how things were going there. Shizune happily handed me a labcoat after she updated my records and told me to play nice with the anbu team that was coming in for a once-over before they went on a mission. There were four of them. One was a Hyuuga by the name of Tetsuo. He surprisingly had short brown hair and looked a little rough like Kiba usually did but his manners completely offset the way he looked. Interesting. The second anbu operative was Yugao-san. She seemed to be faring rather well, long purple hair and all. She looked like she hadn't aged a day since I last saw her four years ago. The third operative surprised me…

-X-

I sat waiting in the hospital next to a blonde Yamanaka, dreading the doctor's visit and the impromptu mission right after a night of light drinking with Kakashi and getting revenge on Sakura's apartment. I didn't care for alcohol much because it never made me drunk unless I had it in large quantities (no thanks to Orochimaru and his poison-conditioning), but Kakashi seemed to want to make it his goal to have it grow on me. The iryo-nin was going to have a fit when he or she looked over my liver. The door opened and the female of our team walked out, waving at the Yamanaka next to me. The blonde with familiar green eyes stood, and walked into the room.

"Ah, Sakura-san!" He exclaimed and my ears immediately zeroed in on his voice… and the fact that the mortal enemy of my apartment turf-war was going to be my examiner… great.

"Suchiru-san!" Came the surprised reply just as the door closed.

Wait. What. They knew each other? Since when had Sakura had time to make friends. She was gone more than myself these last four years… I practically _felt _my ears growing bigger as I did my best to listen through the door. It was a regular check-up room so it shouldn't be too hard to eavesdrop. It just took a little bit of chakra… just a little… and their conversation was mine to hear. What was wrong with me? Why was I so fucking curious all of a sudden? Maybe I needed this mission to clear my head a little after all…

"It's good to see you again." The Yamanaka spoke. I glared at the wall. He sounded so much like my older brother… it actually peeved me because it hit a soft spot somewhere in my chest. It sounded like _Itachi _was in there with Sakura… being _nice _to her… when she _just _slammed a door in my face…_and_ smeared chocolate all over my doorknob… I heard the crinkling of wax paper and knew he had sat down.

"Please remove your shirt, Suchiru-san." Sakura spoke professionally.

"Oh, moving along rather quickly, are we?" The Yamanaka joked and I had to glare. As if that pathetic line would make Sakura—

She giggled as if to mock me. He actually made her laugh. I don't know why I started to dislike him more.

"Nice joke, but you _do _know that as a doctor I see thousands of torsos a day, Suchiru-san, ne?" Nice one. She wasn't going to let him in so easily. At least Sakura wasn't _completely _stupid.

"I'm aware. Are you saying mine isn't impressive?" Bold bastard. Sakura laughed again and I heard the rustling of fabric.

"Breathe in please." Back to the professional tone. I smirked. She wasn't making it easy for him.

-X-

I ignored Suchiru's response and pretended he was any ordinary man. Just do your job Sakura, I told myself. Just do your job… No need to make this visit awkward… even though I wanted to know what he looked like under his clothes just last night… Maybe someone up there was actually giving me a gift, to apologize for Sasuke becoming my next door neighbor at Naruto's machination.

After getting his weight, temperature, and checking his eyes and his chakra, I pulled out a tool to check his reflexes.

"You seem to be in a good mood today, Sakura-san. Was my cousin pleasant company last night?" He asked to change the subject and keep our conversation going. Points to him; he was putting in a lot of effort.

"Oh Ino?" I grinned at the mention of my best friend. "Ino's Ino, but only I can say that because she's my best friend. It's always good to see her." I shrugged light-heartedly.

"Mhm… it'd be nice to see you more often. Perhaps you'd like to go out some time after this mission concludes?" Bold…. This man was bold. Incredible.

Just then his knee kicked. I forgot I was checking his reflexes for a second. I was so startled at his abrupt invitation to a date that I looked up after tapping him with the little hammer and he accidentally nudged me in the hip with the tip of his sandal.

"Ow." I responded and rubbed the sore spot. Great. Stupid, Sakura. Suchiru's wide green eyes looked almost horrified. His cheeks turned red and I actually thought it was cute.

"Sorry! It was just a reflex!" I looked over at him and gaped at his horrible pun. Half naked, he held his hands up and shrugged, giving me a sheepish look. I laughed at his purposeful foolishness and shook my head.

"Sure. After your mission. If I'm around." I responded and continued my examination.

"Oh, if you're around?" He queried, curious now.

"I tend to disappear for a while. My own missions are usually extensive." I explained, checking the rest of his joints. Everything was in tip-top shape… and I mean _everything_. I tried not to drool at the sexy "v" right at the waistband of his nin-pants… ugh… of all the gorgeous men with great personalities, why did the sexiest one have to get checked by me today? Stupid Ino probably plotted this… I grimaced to myself. She _would _too. She was sneaky like that. Tch. Drama-queen.

"Then maybe I'll go beg hokage-sama to keep you here until after I return." He joked. I smiled. It was easy to laugh around him. He was being sweet too.

"You can try but my shisho doesn't just do favors for anyone." I joked back and Suchiru chuckled.

"So I've heard. It must have been difficult training under her." He commented as I put my stuff away while he dressed.

-X-

Sakura seemed to pause before she responded, then nonchalantly she replied…

"It was necessary."

I felt a pang of guilt. Did she undergo something she shouldn't have because of me? Actually, that shouldn't be a question… No one should have to contemplate saving their own teammate from their insanity by killing them… it was fucked up that she felt the need to do that at any point in her life… that she was forced into that kind of corner by my actions alone… I tried not to focus on those thoughts and continued listening…

"So I'll see you when I get back, if you're here." I couldn't help but frown. Maybe because it was like hearing _Itachi _ask Sakura out, not this Yamanaka, Suchiru, whoever he was. When he spoke I saw my brother's face in my mind; I saw black hair, not blonde. Or maybe I was glaring because I didn't like the tone he used with her… it was the same tone I used when I was on missions and had to do what I had to do with women.

"Mm." Sakura simply responded. "If I'm here." Why did you agree Sakura? Can't she tell he really just wants to fuck her? I pretended to be counting tiles when the door opened. The scumbag Yamanaka waved at me. I nodded, just so he wouldn't suspect that I was mildly pissed at him. I sat down with an attitude and Sakura immediately noticed.

"Shirt… off." She explained shortly as she picked up a stethoscope. So I pulled my shirt off. Not a single reaction out of her. Nothing. I glared at her. What the _fuck_? She'd be blushing if it were four or five years ago…

"Breathe in."

I did.

"Did you like the surprise I left for you?" She smirked wryly. I resisted smirking back. I still wanted my revenge to be a surprise for her too…

I exhaled deeply.

"I thought it was shit." I replied honestly.

She snickered, knowing exactly how I meant that sentence.

"That guy just wants to fuck you." I warned her, suddenly. The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. What the _hell _was wrong with me?

"I know."

Wait. What? What the fuck was this? She was just going to _let _him wine and dine her till he got what he wanted? Who was this woman? I stared at her oddly, as if she was some foreign painting I had to make sense of. I went back to glaring. Whatever. If she wanted to fuck some Yamanaka asshole she could. Who was I to stop her?

"Sasuke?" She asked almost blandly as she motioned towards the scale. I kicked off my sandals and stepped on it. She scribbled a few things down, and checked my eyes when I stepped off. Everything was silent, but I felt an odd tension building… I was uncomfortable in her presence for some reason. I sat back down on the table and she asked me to hold my arm out, palm up, and then make a fist. I did. She looked closely at my veins for some reason. Mystified, I looked on with her, not realizing she had tricked me into a false sense of safety. She grabbed my arm harshly and pressed her thumb into a sensitive pressure point. I jolted forward because I had no choice in the matter as the reaction was natural and almost fell into her. She used my weight against me and pushed me up against the wall with a killer taijutsu move I have no idea where she learned from. And then she got in my face…

"If you ever, and I mean _ever _stick your smug, Uchiha nose into my business again, I'll make sure to take out the part of your brain that makes you curious about such things in your sleep." She threatened, jade eyes boring into mine with a fire I knew I had felt coming. I glared back at her, not realizing that in my rush of adrenaline, my sharingan had activated and she was staring fiercely into it. She had meant her threat. Her voice was low and promising when she spoke, telling me where my place was. I hated it. I hated it only because it was _her_ that was threating me this way. What the _fuck _happened to "I'll love you forever, Sasuke-kun?" After looking at my face for a few more seconds, she released me, slightly shoving me against the wall via my arm and went back to her charts, scribbled more things down. I sat back down on the table and we finished the rest of the exam in tense silence.

-X-

Sasuke left, slamming the door as usual when he was mad. Douchebag. Who the _fuck _was he to talk garbage about the people who were interested in me!? How was it any of his business? Why the _fuck_ did he invade my privacy and eavesdrop on my conversation!? Now, I'm _really _going to make it my goal to get Suchiru into bed with me. Just to piss Sasuke off. And when I do, I'm going to screw him as loudly as possible just to grate on that smug bastard's nerves. Asshole.

-X-

What the _fuck _was her problem!? I was just trying to warn her because she was going to get played like a fucking flute and she _freaked _out! Furthermore where the _fuck _was Kakashi or her _father _for that matter to put her in her fucking place!? Sakura… _Sakura_ of all people… shouldn't just be _fucking _guys and whatever like it doesn't matter. Not Sakura. That's just… that bitch in there is _not _Sakura. Pissed, I trudged through the street until I spotted who I was looking for. Naruto. At Ichiraku. By himself. Perfect. I grabbed him by the collar of his floor-length orange jacket and pulled him right off the stool and into the side street.

"Oi! OI! Teme what the _hell!? _That was my _lunch _you just interrupted!" I shoved him against the wall almost as roughly as Sakura had shoved me. I was beyond angry. Everything else but Naruto had a white-ish blur to it.

"Tell me the truth." I glared holes into him. I activated my sharingan, just to make it a point that I was serious.

"What are you talk abou~oiiiiI!" I shook him to interrupt him. He damn well knew what I was talking about.

"What happened to Sakura." Because that wasn't Sakura. It just wasn't. I wouldn't believe it.

"What do you mean? Is Sakura-chan in trouble or something?"

No. Kinda. Yes. But that wasn't what I was asking.

"Did Sakura have her memories altered after the war?" I pressured impatiently... Because that was the only logical explanation for why she was acting so… so _not_ Sakura.

"No. Why?" That was an honest answer. Naruto was surprised I had asked a question like that. It showed in his genuinely confused expression. He wasn't lying. There were no back-alley post-war experiments on shinobi or their memories.

"Fuck. Nevermind." I dropped him and left. Thankfully, he didn't bother going after me. Maybe it was because I had my hands in my pockets again. Maybe it was because his ramen was still waiting for him. Either way, I was thankfully left alone with my thoughts…

I hoped and prayed to whoever was listening that Sakura hated what I did to her apartment… Because I was really hating what she was starting to do to me.

-X-

SOOOOOOOO there we have it. Like? Hate? Review. Lol

Disclaimer: Naruto ™ belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and whoever else owns it. Not me. I don't make money writing this. This work is purely fan-made.

See ya Later Space cowboy!


	3. Truce and Cease-Fire

KISEKI

|3|

Okaaaaaay so I like the feedback I'm getting! I like details though, so don't be afraid to tell me what can be improved! I'm so happy you guys find this fic funny! =] Thank you again to all my reviewers, and please keep in mind that if you're confused, you can always PM me about something you guys aren't clear about. I have a very subtle way of inserting information into the storyline! SO I apologize in advance but if you guys need me to be clearer, or more obvious about certain things let me know!

This chapter is sponsored by my crazy life, crazy dreams and imaginations. Enjoy!

-X-

After my "Sasuke incident" this morning at the hospital, I actually had a good day. I eased back into healing and surgeries rather quickly, and being back in the hospital with the highest level of clearance was refreshing. I felt in control. I felt important and I felt accomplished. Shizune relieved me around three in the afternoon and I was comfortably walking home, just ambling around. I decided to stop at the market and would ya look at that? There was Kakashi-sensei, reading some smut at a black-label stand. Of course. I walked up to my sensei and put a hand on my hip.

"Aren't you getting a little old for that?" I queried and my sensei looked up, bored. I could tell he wasn't paying attention to the book, just wasting time existing, I guess. And I could tell that he was aware of my presence well before I actually confronted him.

"Well if it isn't my favorite iryo-combat-anbu." Kakashi-sensei responded.

I smirked. We both knew Rin-san was his favorite iryo nin; and Obito-san his favorite lazy nin. My smirk faded into a soft smile and I crossed my arms.

"I've been back two days and you haven't come to say hello?" I queried, feigning an offended tone. I missed BSing with Kakashi-sensei, to be perfectly honest.

"You've been back two days and you haven't come to say hello?" My sensei echoed and I gave him a wry smile. He was as slick as ever.

"Well I'm saying hello now, sensei. How have you been?" I gave in easily this time because I really wanted to know if he was okay… if he was healing right; not physically, but emotionally, mentally.

"Allright. How about yourself?" He asked. "My birds have told me that you've been taking cold showers."

Aaaaaaaand my mood. It died. Thanks Kakashi-sensei.

"Yes I think we're all aware that Sasuke has mental issues." I sniped back. I did _not _come here to talk about Sasuke. I came here to ask if sensei was okay. "But that's not why I'm talking to you. I could care less about my living issues. I wanted to know how you're doing and if you're okay." I reiterated, reigning my temper. Woooo-saaaaah, Sakura… wusa….

"Sakura, believe me I'm fine." He stressed, looking up into my eyes this time so I could note that he really did mean it. I sighed. Okay. What now? Sometimes sensei was unreadable. "Are any of the suiton jutsu I taught you helping in the field?" Kakashi-sensei asked to change the subject. I smiled happily. Good. He was conceding for now. We were talking about things that I wanted to talk about. Good.

"Yes; actually they are. I made a whip out of water by applying the same principles of chakra control that Tsunade-sama taught me. It's getting easier and easier to use." I smiled proudly.

"I hope you're not whipping your patients, boyfriends, or either of my cute little students, Sakura." Kakashi-sensei deadpanned and I laughed at the thought of chasing Naruto down with my mizu-muchi no jutsu. Actually… that sounded like a good idea, but only for when I feel like looking at his face again... It still hurt that he went behind my back after I told him I wanted nothing to do with Sasuke and nothing to do with being Sasuke's friend for a while, at least until I felt certain that I felt nothing for him and was okay with that. I had been avoiding the whole issue for four years because I simply didn't want to deal with it and now Naruto was _forcing _me to deal with it. I became somber and lost in thought for longer than I believed and my sensei sighed, put his smut down and placed his hands on my shoulders as I snapped back to reality.

"Come talk with me, if you'll listen to an old man's words." I looked at Kakashi-sensei strangely and nodded. We walked on in silence for many minutes until we came upon a park. Like little kids we waited for the swings to be free and sat on them when the screaming, energetic little kids ran away to play "ninja" without a care in the world.

"I'm gonna catch you with my Gokakyu no jutsu!" A little boy in brown slacks and a bright green tee shouted.

And like a mini version of Sasuke, the boy with curly beige hair and dark endless eyes took a deep breath and blew out nothing but air. But to the little girl with bright blonde hair and violet eyes that it was pointed at, it was real. She ducked and rolled clumsily and haughtily exclaimed that it had missed her, but she was holding her arm as if it really had been burnt. I smiled at the scene until Kakashi cleared his throat. Idly, I began swinging, because I was nervous. Because I knew this conversation was going to be heavy and filled with things I wasn't going to like. But I had a nice time running away from everything for four years. That was fun. I had kissed a boy, dated a couple of guys, lost my virginity, drank, helped people heal and celebrated at many parties, all away from home as a stranger in a strange village. I had gallivanted enough and it was time to hear Kakashi sensei's disapproval of what I had become.

Surprisingly, that's not the talk he gave me.

"I don't know why Naruto and Tsunade-sama moved Sasuke in next to you. I don't know why Sasuke still thinks he was there first."

And my mouth dropped open. Wait. What. Who was the number one most unpredictable ninja, again? If Naruto had that title, he had just lost it, because I wasn't expecting that. At all. I shut my mouth because I didn't know what I wanted to say. So I figured I'd listen instead of speak.

"But I do know that maybe the three of you will move past everything that happened if you just let yourself become friends again." My sensei spoke sagely. It was good advice. But it wasn't politically correct.

"We were never friends to begin with." I commented sadly, because it was true. Naruto and I were friends. Naruto and Sasuke were friends. But Sasuke disliked me; always and forever.

"You and Sasuke?" He hit the nail right on the head.

Hatake Kakashi was no idiot.

"It's not that I haven't forgiven him." I held up my hand. "I've already kind of have. You have to, when someone hurts you to the point where they can't hurt you anymore… It's just that I never got my apology and I understand that I never will get my apology… and there just isn't anything to salvage of a friendship if there was no bond or connection there to begin with. It was always Naruto and Sasuke, sensei. I was just the extra. I wasn't even a useful extra." I shrugged. Things were as they were. They couldn't be changed now.

I don't know why I used film-analogies to define our roles in our lives, but it worked. Kaka-sensei got it.

"So why don't you start over? There's a bond. You three were a great team." He offered in an optimistic tone.

"No sensei; remember? Unimportant extra?" I pointed to myself for emphasis. "They had to save me all the time… if I knew… If only Tsunade-sama had been here earlier…"

I shook my head clear of my regrets. Everything had played out the way it did. There was no use in wondering 'what-if' anymore.

"So you think they have the same opinion of you that they did back then; is that why you don't _want _to reconnect?" He asked. Again, he was practically right on the money.

"Kind of. I want to be sure that I can hold together on my own before I run back to them." I shrugged, giving the best answer I possibly could. It wasn't easy dancing around the fact that I wanted to triple check and be sure that I didn't feel anything for Sasuke anymore before I became friends with him.

"I see… then you have a lot of 'making sure' to do. I can't tell you what to do, Sakura-chan. But start by being friends. After all, you can't prove anything to people who don't even see you, ne?" He smiled his crinkly-eyed smile and I jumped off the swing. Hesitantly, I hugged my sensei, hoping he didn't find it weird. He hugged me back.

"Arigato." I spoke softly and let go. Kakashi sensei nodded and shunshinned away, disappearing in a flurry of leaves. Being reminded of Rin-san and Obito-kun, I made my way to the Uchiha graveyard. I felt stalkerish and strange visiting the place that held Sasuke's family members, but whatever. I had heard that Sasuke had put the graves where the old compound used to stand. There was a stone pillar, a picture and a name for every Uchiha they could find a record on. It was a nice park now surrounded by trees and flowers. It was peaceful and worked well with the new village's layout. I made my way to the memorial and passed through the small, stone shrines in front that marked the entrance. I walked until I found the rows of graves and stopped at the most recent one for the most recent Uchiha that died: Uchiha Obito. I never knew him personally, but he was a friend of Kaka-sensei's so he was a friend of mine. I saw down cross-legged and smiled at the picture of a young, energetic Obito complete with goggles and an ear-to-ear grin.

"Hey." I started, feeling a little strange and spiritual. "Your family members are crazy, you know that? How do I go about making friends with one?" I laughed at myself for a minute but smiled again at the picture. How would this conversation go if Obito were actually alive and hadn't died? I frowned. He'd be different than the Obito in the picture here. He'd be half-insane in Ino's care; for sure. I hugged myself and wondered if he asked to be killed when all the fighting was done. I shuddered.

"Just please… if you're listening… make it easier for me… okay?"

I pressed my hands together and bowed, then stood up and dusted grass off of my butt. I walked forward and for some reason, I felt compelled to look back. Another lonely pillar with a different name caught my eyes, right next to Obito-san's.

Uchiha Itachi. I had met the man only once… that one time with Naruto… But Naruto had told me that he had been on our side the entire time. Another complicated person. I backtracked and kneeled down because this was Sasuke's brother and as much trouble as Sasuke had caused me, a hero, his _brother_ deserved respect. I sighed. What to say to this spirit?

"I didn't know you very well, but I heard from Naruto that you were a good person, despite what you did; even that one time when we met on opposite sides of the field you were still working for our side. I'm sure you remember. I don't know what trouble you had to endure, but I hope you're at peace now…" I got that strange feeling again and I felt a comforting chill run through my spine. I don't exactly know how a chill could be comforting but that one somehow was.

I touched the picture softly and noted how beautiful his face was. Uchiha Itachi would have made a fine husband and a wonderful father, and if he was as kind-hearted, funny and wise as Naruto said he was, he'd be an amazing friend to have around. I huffed at his picture, because I knew I had one hell of a task ahead of me.

"You know what else Naruto says? Naruto says that Sasuke needs a friend. I don't know how to be a friend to him, but I hope that maybe, somewhere along the way, while you're busy protecting him, you can help me out too…if it's not too much to ask for, of course… Rest easy, Itachi-san."

I put my hands together and bowed my head and just then… BOOM CRASH! Thunder and lightning. Tiny droplets of rain turned into huge tears that felt like someone was drumming on my scalp when they hit it.

Shit. I hadn't brought an umbrella. I frowned at the grave.

"Or you can make it rain, Itachi-san… I know you Uchiha are funny like that…" I grimaced and stood. I looked at the two graves. Usually, when you visit a grave, you leave flowers. I had come here with nothing but my thoughts. I smirked wryly. I'd give them both what I had given to Sasuke's cause, because they were Uchiha too and it was fitting: my hair. I pulled a kunai out of my weapons pouch and sliced off just a little piece of wet hair. I placed the tiny pink lock on top of Obito-san's pillar. Then, I carefully sliced another tiny lock and placed it atop Itachi-san's pillar too. I put my hands together one more time, bowed to both pillars in utmost respect and ran from the pouring rain. I was getting soaked to the bone and visiting Rin-san would have to wait until later. For now, I just ran to my apartment.

-X-

I was pissed when I got to the door and found that my douchey neighbor (*cough*Sasuke*cough*) had smeared tomatoes all. Over. My. Door. After I had made peace with him in my mind, too! The acid from the fruit had sunk into the wood and washed it a paler color. It looked awful, and I was ready to pull Sasuke out of his apartment by his neck and punch him in the face, but I had spoken an oath at the Uchiha graves and practically made it a promise to try to be friends with the smug jerk so I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose instead. I would have to be the bigger person here.

"Sasuke." I called his name, stoically, trying to keep the aggravation out of my tone. I knew he was home. I heard him get up, even with the sound of the thunder outside. He was making it obvious that he had heard me and was coming. The knob jiggled and now he was standing at his doorway, looking me over. His eyes flicked from my hair, to my arms, to my feet, to the door, then back to my face. I held out my soaked, chilled hand. He looked at it, arms crossed across his chest as I dripped water to the floor.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Silence.

I would have to do the talking. I visibly rolled my eyes; not caring that he noticed.

"This is stupid." I started, because it was. And partially because I was selfish and wanted to take a warm shower after being drenched in the rain. I did _not _want a cold shower after being out in a storm. Granted, I had dealt with freezing showers before because I had to as a kunoichi. Sometimes, all you had to wash with was cold water, but seriously. This was my home. I wanted to be comfortable here. I gestured towards the door, owned in tomatoes and tomato juice. There were four tomatoes in total currently rotting on the floor, and Sasuke was glaring at me.

"Your icing under my doorknob was stupid." He replied. Because it was. I nodded, slowly… really slowly. Yes, yes Sasuke, I know. It was stupid. You want a cookie for deducing that that was stupid? Come on, Obito-san… Itachi-san… help… a little… please?

"That's not what I meant." I replied shortly after, again, trying to keep the aggravation out of my tone.

-X-

I knew that that's not what she meant. That didn't explain why she was dripping water all over the floor, holding her hand out expectantly. What? Did she want me to take her inside and clean her up and put her in my bed and cover her in blankets because she realized that spiting each other was dumb?

"Look, Sasuke. You're leaving tomorrow morning." She started. I just stared back. Yeah? So what? What did that have anything to do with this "fight" or whatever it was, being "stupid"? Of course it's stupid, yeah. But honestly, I was enjoying it. I got to ruin and stain her door… forever. Because she made me think I had her shit on my hands and almost made me throw up alcohol and barbeque. These past few days have been filled with some of the most ass-retarded things I've ever done, but I enjoyed myself. She shook her head as if she didn't know how to put her next sentence into words.

"This turf war is stupid. Let's just call a truce, okay?" Even though it was a question, her tone was solid. It held no room for argument. I almost smirked. What game was she playing? Seriously?

"You _want_ a truce." I rephrased for her, because I wasn't an idiot. She was demanding and I wasn't going to give in. Why, when we've come so far? She frowned, and I could tell she was getting impatient, frustrated. Her body tensed just a little. It was miniscule, but I was trained to notice someone _think_ about farting if I had to, so I could tell.

"No Sasuke, I'm _asking_ for a truce, but if you want me to demand one, I can." She replied, a slightly exasperated hint to her voice and I had to think for a second. There was nothing but honesty in her expression. I frowned. She had played her cards well, but not well enough.

"Demand a truce, then." I shrugged, because I wasn't just going to accept a truce. Fuck that. She had started a war. A _war_. I wasn't just going to say, "okay we can end it if you want" no way.

-X-

He was being difficult.

"Fine, damn it." I snapped. I was cold, wet, shivering, and uncomfortable and I _still _had to clean my damn door! FINE. "I demand a truce, Uchiha Sasuke." I spat. Why was he being so fucking impossible!?

"Good, what will you trade me for one?" Now he was smirking. His eyes were _glittering_. He was _enjoying_ this... this game he was playing! Fucking _snake! _He was _out_ to get me mad. He existed solely for the purpose of pissing me off and making me suffer! Nothing else! I had had enough. I moved lightning-fast and pinned him against his doorway. He had expected the assault and held an arm out to keep me at bay. I still had a firm hand on his shoulder and was keeping it against the molding of his door. He glared at me. I glared at him. He was tensed up and ready to spring if necessary. I smirked at him and he narrowed his eyes.

-X-

She had pinned me, but I was expecting it. What did she think she was doing? If she thought she could fight me in this complex and expect things not to get destroyed she was mistaken. I watched on as she smirked at me, wryly. Then, I felt her cold hand grasp mine. I looked down, ignoring the bone-crushing weight she had applied to my shoulder with her strength, that was now starting to strain my collar bone. She shook my hand, or rather, forced me to shake her hand. I frowned.

Well, shit.

"It's a truce. It's over and done-with. I'm done fighting you, Sasuke." She said each statement slowly and I couldn't help but notice all the different flecks of green in her jade eyes and the way she spoke and said my name. Her eyes made me think of that asshole Yamanaka and it made me angry at her for believing that he'd treat her right. But that was a battle for another day… I had a mission coming up with the son of a bitch, anyway.

She was done fighting me. Okay. That much I understood. She slowly released me and I felt more relaxed, now that my shoulder wasn't in danger of being dislocated, or shattered. I felt confused however… if she was done fighting me then… what now? I looked down at her and this time, I _really _looked at her. She was small, lithe, but she had filled out in the right places these last four years. Her hair was longer but it was all shredded and messy at the ends, as if she didn't have time to cut it, which was probably true. Her face had narrowed and lost its childishness, but the biggest change was in her eyes. They had once been so adoring, so loving, so bright and filled with happiness. They were dimmed recently, no longer filled with the hope and promise that were in them before…

…And I _just_ noticed this _now_ because they were a little brighter at the moment. And for some reason, that little bit of light in her eyes made me feel… weird… like I had done something good. I felt uneasy at the thought of feeling good about doing something good, especially towards Sakura, so I spoke to run over the tension and oddity I felt with my voice.

"What now?" I asked. She shrugged.

"I don't hate you, you know." She said, in a matter-of-fact tone, and my eyes darted all over her face for more detail…

Yeah… She didn't hate me, that much was true, but she didn't completely love me either, as I expected her to. I searched further to see any hint of the adoration she had for me before. It wasn't there. She smiled at me the same way she smiled at Naruto. I think my stomach might have dropped a little. I didn't want to think about why.

"We could just be friends, for once." She continued and shrugged again. She felt stupid. I felt stupid too. I felt petulant and childish; like I wouldn't just settle for friendship. Why? Who the hell knows? Am I that selfish? This was Sakura for fuck's sake… _annoying _Sakura. What is wrong with me? "It's up to you. But this turf war's over." She finished.

And just like that she opened her door, walked in and shut it quietly behind her and I was the idiot left staring at the puddle on the floor and the tomatoes rotting away at her doorstep wondering…

What in the seventh ring of hell just happened?

-X-

Well, that went well, I guess? I suppose it went as well as it was going to go, so I shrugged and started taking off my clingy, wet clothes. I had made the effort I promised to make and I smiled to myself. That was good enough. That was a start. I felt like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. Kakashi-sensei had been right. Starting off with friendship would make things better. And even though Sasuke didn't answer me, I had still extended a hand to him and for once, it felt good to do something nice. Because this time around, I was actually being the better person and it felt awesome. It's like I had been cleansed of a plague that had slowly been eating me away for the last four years. I felt happy, but the best thing is… I felt in control of my happiness, which is what I needed this whole time. Silently humming to myself, I turned on the shower. I waited a few minutes and smiled when I realized Sasuke had cease-fired and didn't go to flush his toilet. Excited to not shiver and freeze any longer, I jumped in and closed the curtain behind me.

-X-

I sighed. Was this a joke? I half-suspected that maybe all of that was just a trick to make me not flush the toilet on her while she showered because she was cold, but there had been irrefutable sincerity in her eyes when she spoke. So, dejected, I decided to apologize in the only way I could. I grabbed a bucket, a sponge, a trashbag and some paper towels and got to work on her door…

Once the mess in the hall and on her door was clean I went back into my apartment and decided to read. I picked up a stupid book Kakashi had gotten me, titled "Wars Won". Thankfully, it had yet to have any smut in it. Honestly, if I wanted to beat it to something I'd just turn on the tv late at night or go find some magazine or even used my imagination or something. Regardless, it was mostly about the life of a ninja and how a man dealt with his loss. It was interesting. So I lay quietly on my bed, reading, wondering when Sakura would notice that I had cleaned her door…

-X-

After my early-evening shower I dressed in my usual nin pants, boots and v-neck and decided to clean my door. Surprised, I realized that Sasuke had laid down his pride and cleaned it for me. I had to smile at the door and honestly, I had to smile at his door too. Maybe we were friends, after all. I went out then to go shopping for food. It was getting late and I was hungry… Sasuke was probably hungry too…

It wouldn't hurt to make a celebratory dinner to commemorate our friendship would it?

-X-

It must have been evening when I heard the knocking.

Knock knock knock!

Ugh… what did Sakura want? I realized I had fallen asleep with the book on my stomach and frowned. I'd have to go back and re-read things again to fully understand them. I placed a small piece of paper to mark the spot I had finished off at and went to my door. I opened it, and there she stood, clean, dry and holding a pot to my nose, grinning from ear-to-ear.

"Hungry?" She asked. "I bet it smells good, huh?" Then she winked confidently and waved the pot around. I rolled my eyes and closed the door behind me, gesturing for her to lead the way into her apartment. Once inside, I noted how it was clean, but there were a lot of places that had collected dust. Awkwardly, I sat at the round table as she put down bowls and the pot she was carrying earlier. This was a day I hadn't seen coming… the day that Sakura of all people cooked for me as I sat and waited at a table… I shook those weird thoughts from my head and focused on other things.

Curious, I lifted the lid and sneaked a peak. Beef stew. She had made a beef stew. I smirked. There was a lot of protein in it. I looked up and realized she was giving me a wry grin. She had made it that way on purpose, because the dish she had made me before needed more protein… Touché, Sakura… touché. She handed me a ladle and a spoon and I got to work, making sure to get as much steak and vegetables into the bowl as possible before ladling the broth over.

"You're leaving tomorrow." She started again and I looked up, now chewing on the perfectly-cooked meat in my mouth. I honestly almost didn't care what she was saying because the food was so good, but I wasn't Naruto, I was Sasuke, so I paid attention… to both her _and_ the food. "I know the mission will be hard if Tsunade-sama is sending four anbu out together, particularly two anbu who are adept at kinjutsu, like you and Yugao-san. Whatever happens, make sure you, Suchiru-san, Yugao-san and Tetsuo-san take care of each other, ne?" She was serious so I nodded, though I frowned at the thought of watching the Yamanaka's back. He didn't deserve her kindness, but then again, I didn't either. So I kept my mouth shut and continued eating. She poured herself some soup too and we ate in a silence that I have to say was rather comfortable.

-X-

After we ate… we, um, awkwardly, I suppose, cleaned up. I put the remainder of the soup into a plastic bowl and sealed it in a scroll, handing it to Sasuke if he got hungry on his mission. Oddly, he took it and sealed it into the white arm guards on his wrists. Then we did dishes. I washed, he dried. Everything was silent and a little surreal, but I didn't let that bother me. This was my childhood dream, but I refused to think about that. Tomorrow was Ino's birthday. I would have to go shopping for a killer outfit because Ino was obviously throwing a killer party. I rolled my eyes and sighed, forgetting Sasuke was even there.

"What?" His voice startled me, the deep baritone washing over my ears and I flinched, nearly dropping my plate. I exhaled to relax when I realized I wasn't in danger.

"Nothing; I was just thinking about Ino's party." I replied and continued washing the plate in hand. I rinsed it, turned off the faucet and handed it to Sasuke, who dried it with a dish rag and placed it in the cabinet above his head. He squeaked the cabinet shut. "I don't feel like dressing up; I just feel like drinking." I grinned and he shot me an amused smirk.

"So don't dress up." He shrugged and I realized that the shirt he was wearing was slightly battered. I frowned. He gave as much of a shit about his clothes as Naruto. I swear they're the same person, sometimes.

"I can't just _not _dress up." I Crossed my arms and he crossed his, leaning against my counter. He cocked an eyebrow and I smirked. "I still have to show off the fact that I'm just as sexy as Ino is, duh." I rolled my eyes as if _he_ were the stupid one and he gave me a deflated look. I glared at him, because he didn't take it seriously and punched him in the shoulder.

"Shut up, I can hear your condescending thoughts without you even saying them." I grinned and he gave me a stern look.

-X-

Condescending thoughts? Actually, if I were to just look at Sakura in a physical sense… yeah I'd fuck her. She was good-looking. She had grown into her forehead, as weird as that realization was to me, and her pink hair actually made her exotic in a perverted kind of way. She was small, and curvy and seemed to have just enough in the spots that counted. Even her eyes were large, green and could certainly be used to seduce if she wanted to (and by now I was sure she _had_ used them to get what she wanted out of a man) but that wasn't the point. I didn't say anything on the matter because she was my _friend_ and deserved respect. So I chose to move to show myself out. She followed me to the door, but I stopped and turned. I paused for a few seconds and contemplated on my sanity before I decided to ask anyway.

"Let's spar." I offered as I turned around. Her door still vaguely smelled like tomatoes and cleaning products; a fact to which I resisted the urge to smirk. I watched her delicate features morph into a small frown as she contemplated what I said.

"You're leaving tomorrow. It wouldn't do if I messed you up before an important mission. You think Tsunade-sama would take that lightly?" She cocked a brow and crossed her arms and I couldn't help but notice how her hip popped out, almost like with an attitude when she shifted her weight to her right foot. I smirked. She thinks she can mess me up? We'll see about that. The only living person that could thoroughly give me a run for my money was Naruto.

"I meant when I get back." Because I will come back. Even if someone managed to half-kill me I'd still drag myself back if only to prove to her that that Yamanaka is an asshole. I mean, I'm an asshole too, but at least that fact is out in the open, right? Her features relaxed and she seemed surprised for a moment, but then she smirked confidently.

"All right, Uchiha. You're on. When you get back we'll set up a time and place and I'll whip you around. Sounds good?" She spoke in a mock-sweet tone, as if making plans with her boy-toy. I was surprised for a moment; she could talk some shit. What happened to her over the years? This "new" Sakura that I'm not familiar with is an enigma and I actually think I kind of like it…

"Don't be so sure about 'whipping me around'." I replied, not one to be pushed over so easily.

"Well we'll see when it happens." She insisted and I rolled my eyes.

"Whatever, Sakura. Ja-ne."

And just like that I turned and let myself out, closing the door on her as she turned around to go do what it was she usually did at home. I stretched, popped my back in the hallway and decided to go pack my things. This mission was short. It was only a week long, but I've come to notice that the shorter the missions were, the more dangerous they were. We were to spend a week in a small border-country called Kan in between Sound and Rice. There were three groups of rebels in Kan. They were thinking of joining forces. They were a mafia of sorts and most of them were thieves, murderers and even rapists. Yugao, the tiger, was going to be our team captain.

I was rifling through my drawers and found the mask I was looking for. They had given me a cat, because cats were "just an Uchiha thing" like Naruto said. I smirked. The dobe remembered the dumbest things during the dumbest moments. I remembered how I had shoved him and frowned. Maybe I should go see if he's at his apartment.

-X-

And sure enough, Naruto was on his couch, drinking a soda. I ended up sitting next to him with a cup of tea that I made myself, watching a stupid civilian show with him like we often did when we initially came back from the war. There were a bunch of tricky obstacles that the civilians had to get through to win a cash prize. Ninjas weren't allowed and I could spot sensors in the crowd, watching and making sure no one used chakra. Some guy was trying to knock down a Daruma, piece by piece with a hammer without actually toppling the thing over. It was entertaining and we sat in silence for a while.

"So, you ready for the mission tomorrow?" Naruto asked, taking another swig from the glass soda bottle.

"Ah." I responded, not removing my eyes from the tv.

"You smell like beef stew." Naruto commented. Damn his heightened senses.

"Sakura made it." Because why should I hide that? He would know eventually, anyway

Pfffftshhhhhhhhhhfffff! He spat out his soda.

"N-Naniii!?"

I smirked at him. Idiot.

"Really?" He queried now, big blue eyes watery and hopeful in a comical way. I grunted.

"Yes, really. What's the big deal?" I asked, annoyed. Naruto went back to watching tv and shrugged and I could tell he was only acting like he didn't really care, but I let it slide.

"Nothing. Sakura-chan used to make me beef stew, before…" He trailed off and blushed. Wait a second. What the hell was going on?

"Before what?" I pressed, just barely keeping the impatience out of my tone, while pretending not to care.

"Before Hinata-chan starting looking out for me." He responded quietly and the dummy blushed like a genin. I smirked. Easy prey.

"Oh, before you started dating." I blurted loudly, purposefully.

"SHHHHHH TEME!" He smashed his hands against my mouth and as a result I accidentally spilled some lukewarm tea onto my crotch. Gross. It felt like pee.

"UghNaruto!" I pushed his face away with my hand to get him to let up.

"Don't say that too loud! Hinata-chan is a Hyuuga!" He hissed in a whisper. "It's not… I don't know, _normal_ for her to date outside of the clan. He relaxed and backed off and I grabbed a tissue out of the box on his coffee table to absorb the moisture from my pants.

"You mean customary?" I corrected him in a drawl.

"Yeah, yeah whatever."

I wondered if Naruto would ever marry Hinata. He had to grow the balls to ask her father for her hand someday. Otherwise, the man would just pick someone for her to marry. I came from a prestigious clan. I knew how those kinds of families operated too well. I wonder if everyone was still alive… would I have been pushed to marry some Uchiha girl? I frowned at the idea of marrying someone with hair and eyes as dark as mine. Meh. Not enough difference in appearance for me to be attracted. I liked differently colored eyes. I realized then that every woman that I had ever slept with had some sort of candy-colored irises.

"You should tell her father that she's yours." I suddenly spoke, without checking myself first. Whatever, the words were true and they were out. It was the best advice I could give him, as a brother to another brother.

"Tch. I think if I become hokage first it will make a better impression." Naruto grumbled in a political tone.

What an idiot. He was a hero. He saved the shinobi world and brought every country together and was viewed world-_wide_ as a symbol of peace. What did he need the title of hokage for anymore anyway? He definitely didn't need it to marry the person he loves.

"You've accomplished enough. Just go and claim her before Hiashi forgets everything you've done for this world." I pushed, only because Naruto was pissing me off. He was putting himself down, technically letting on that he wasn't good enough just yet. What an _idiot_.

"I will but not yet."

I stood up then. Whatever, if he wanted to just stay one step away from everything he could have ever wanted or needed as a man, he could. It wasn't my business. I washed my glass and placed it in the cabinet above his sink and glared at the big wet spot on my pants. Thankfully, my pants were black so the spot wouldn't be as noticeable in the dark.

"Be safe on your mission, teme." Naruto called as I let out an affirmative grunt and showed myself out.

-X-

Once back in the apartment complex, I sensed someone on our floor. Yes, _our _floor, because Sakura and I now _shared _it, even though it was mine to begin-with. I stealthily glided up the stairs, as silent as a wraith and listened at the corner. Who was up here and why?

*knock knock knock*

Okay someone was visiting Sakura. They were obvious. No one was sneaking around, other than me. I relaxed and walked down the hall. The stranger I saw though, pissed me off. It was that Yamanaka asshole… I kept my face neutral. I didn't want him to know he was stoking the hell in my core that I liked to refer to as my "anger issues". The therapists hadn't prepared me for shit like this, so I just nodded at him and he waved with a grin… because that _asshole _would be happy about going to flirt with _Sakura_ at her _apartment_ like a fucking _stalker_.

Sakura answered the door and beamed at him like he was the sun and she had just been in a dark valley full of I don't know, bugs or whatever she was afraid of. Again, that burning in my stomach returned. Stop being such a damn idiot, Sakura…

"Ah, Suchiru-san. How are you? Just then, she heard me unlocking my door. Ah, Sasuke, you're back! You should be resting before your mission!" She was chastising me, out of worry for my health and well-being of course, but whatever. I was pissed and her concern was lost on me at that point.

"Hn." I couldn't help but take my anger out on her. I also couldn't help but notice she didn't seem to care. One raised pink brow was all I got in response. I shut my door as calmly as possible, and pretended to move about my apartment.

"Oi, I was just wondering if I could give you my present to give to Ino for me. I'm afraid most of my family is busy preparing the grand hall for her party, so they might forget." The asshole Yamanaka laughed, as if this whole little visit _wasn't _purposefully and carefully plotted out. Don't think you're so great. I know what you're doing…_dick_. I glared holes at the wall where I heard his voice coming from.

Sakura laughed. Ugh, _why_ in _hell _was she laughing?

"Oh okay, come on in and have some tea while you're here, then. I need to get the other gifts out of their hiding spot." She said in a confident, playful tone and I could tell she had winked at him. That hell in me that I was talking about before? It was blazing right now. Stop being so stupid, Sakura!

-X-

At a loss of what to do, because I was caught off-guard, I invited Suchiru in. He had come all the way to my apartment from the Yamanaka compound, after all, and it was a long trip. I set the teapot on the stove and turned the gas on.

"Sit there, I'll be right back." I took the small blue gift box from his hands as he sat at my kitchen table. Nervously, I walked into my bedroom and threw the full-sized mattress up against the wall, silently and single-handedly. Beneath, on the wooden box spring, was a secret storage seal that required my blood to unlock. I quickly bit my finger, smeared the blood on the seal, applied chakra and watched the seal eat up the blood. Poof. There was the box. I put his gift for Ino into the larger box next to the other gifts from myself, Sai and Naruto and resealed it, putting my mattress back into place.

When I came back I noticed Suchiru-san was smiling at the pictures in my living room. I crossed my arms.

"How did you become an anbu if you can't follow orders?" I queried with a smirk. Suchiru-san looked surprised and blushed. He laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head.

"Sorry, I've always had a bad streak of curiosity." He excused and made his way back over to the kitchen.

"Ah, so you're a nosy anbu." I grinned just as the tea kettle started to wail. I reached up to grab the tea set that Sasuke had annoyingly put on the highest shelf, because he was tall and he could. I got up on my toes and reached the glass tray the white and pink cups were sitting up-side-down on. I swiftly pulled the tray back, but I was too short and the angle was all off and I started to tip backwards.

"Wh-whoaaa!" A strong, supportive hand was at my back immediately, the other on the tray that would have fallen and collided with the floor. Suchiru smiled as he raised both of his hands to pick up the tray and set it down on the counter.

"Th-thanks." I stammered. My face was probably beet red. That would have been embarrassing if he hadn't helped out.

-X-

I gazed dumbly at the wall. Was I stupid? I was. I had gone dumb, and I had gone crazy, definitely. First, I put Sakura's tea set away on the highest shelf. That would have been no big deal, but it gave that _stupid _Yamanaka the opportunity to look cool. Thus, I was an idiot and that Yamanaka was the spectator pointing and laughing at me. If at all possible, I must have glared harder at the wall. My sharingan activated and I could see the two chakras behind the wall. They must be sitting at her kitchen table.

… I was still aggravated… I don't know why. I should just stop listening to the lies coming from the blonde's mouth… but I couldn't… And thus… I was crazy…

-X-

"Mmm Jasmine with a hint of honey." Suchiru-san smiled.

"It's good for sleeping." I commented. "You guys must have one hell of a mission tomorrow if there's four of you going."

"Ah yes. But it shouldn't be too hard." He shrugged as I sipped on my tea.

"Did you pack all of your things?" I asked in an effort to keep the silence at bay.

"Of course."

"Mhm…" I had gotten shitty at flirting. When was the last time I dated someone? It was months ago. Some dummy from lightning… Ugh.

"Where do you want to go when I get back?" He asked, picking up the conversation for me before sipping his tea.

I almost spat out my tea in shock. He was a surprising one, for sure. I forgot he did that. Jeez, what an up-front guy… I pretended to clear my throat as I reigned in my surprise. My cheeks were red, my face felt hot. I hate that he could do that to me.

"I don't know. Surprise me." I smirked. I like playing games too, Suchiru. Don't forget that.

"Ah, so this is a test." He smirked beautifully back.

I grinned. Maybe it was a test. I shrugged as a response.

"Who knows? But the date better be good." I left him hanging around with that exploding tag. 'Serves him right for shocking the hell out of me three times in one day.

"Well, how about you tell me about the things you like and the places you haven't been to yet? I could just cook something up, of course, but I'd rather make the night special for you." He smiled genuinely and I couldn't help but genuinely answer him…

"I like…"

What did I like? I didn't even know. I frowned for a moment before I thought of my duties as a medic.

"I like to read and train and save people. I like to be productive." It was as good as my answer was going to get. It didn't give out any obvious options for a night out, but it was honest and it would do.

"Ah, that's quite a 'different' answer. Most kunoichi say they like to be treated as equals." Suchiru smiled.

I stared dumbly at him. Really? There was still sexism like that against kunoichi? Then again, I'm Haruno Sakura. No one was sexist against me because they knew I could take on a hundred men and not break a sweat. I had earned a reputation for taking out Sasori of the Red Sand and so, people feared me. Men feared me. Men didn't even question me after the war.

"Ah, but of course you must be treated differently. You're infamous for your strength." He smiled. "That's a good thing." He then added, to make sure he wasn't offending me, which he wasn't because I had come to the same conclusion anyway.

"Well… yeah… I guess. You're not afraid of me like the rest of them, are you?" I grinned, poking fun and he laughed.

"No, of course not." But he genuinely meant it. His smile was sincere so I smiled back.

"Anyway, I don't think I've ever been to…" I smirked… it was my turn to surprise him. "…A Kirigakure nightclub. I heard they're insane." I deadpanned.

"Ah, so you like the electronic music?" He cocked a blonde brow and I laughed at his surprised expression.

"Sometimes." I replied honestly.

"Hmmm…. Maybe we can get Ino to come too." He grinned evilly and I suddenly knew why. I gasped.

"You know Sai would feel weird going! He's so introverted…kind-of!" I reached over and smacked his forearm and he laughed.

"But you know it would be funny to see his reaction. I'd just like to see him get mad at Ino's drunk antics."

"Oh trust me, you don't want to see Sai mad… But yes, we'll see if Ino wants to go. Maybe Sai will want to go to, just to see what it's like." I shrugged and Suchiru nodded. Just then he downed the rest of his tea and stretched, allowing me full view of his perfectly toned and flat stomach, and tightly muscled arms.

"Well, early to sleep, early to rise, or whatever, right?" He grinned and got up. "Thanks in advance for delivering my gift."

"Of course. It's not a big deal." I sat up and walked him to the door, opening the entranceway to step out in the hall. He followed me, slipping his shoes on right before he stepped out.

"Ne, Sakura-san?"

"Hm?" I looked up as I watched him step out and in front of me. What was he doing? He stood and smiled at me.

"You're beautiful." He spoke softly. And my heart started hammering. I had been called hot. I had been called sexy. I had been called many things; but no one had ever called me beautiful, not while looking through my eyes and into my soul the way Suchiru just did… "Goodnight." And he bowed and left me blushing, staring dumbly at his back until he disappeared. What? Did that just happen? I put my clammy hands onto my burning cheeks. Suddenly, I was playfully peeved because I knew he said that on purpose to take me off guard. He seemed to like to do that in subtle ways. Cute jerk. That was the fourth time he surprised me today! I turned around and shut my door, content on cleaning up and going to bed.

-X-

"Ne, Sakura-san?" Just leave already. Why won't he just go?

"Hm?" That was her 'I wasn't exactly paying attention' tone. Good. Don't pay attention to him. He's playing you, Sakura.

Yep. I was insane, all right. It ran in the family to prove it, too. Here I was, listening to Sakura's every word with this guy… listening to the entire conversation like some sort of obsessive madman... alone… in my stupid apartment… This was pathetic… What would Itachi do?

Itachi was smart. Itachi would saunter over and _make _the guy look like an idiot. But I wasn't Itachi. I was Sasuke. And I was too pissed and surprised to really do anything but listen. I felt like I was seven again, unable to stop something that I wanted to prevent from happening. Unable, because I was powerless… because Sakura didn't think or care about me like that anymore. I was… I was in the friend-zone… deep in it. That's what it's called right? When a girl thinks about you as just a friend… I thought back to the time I was stuck in Naruto's apartment all day because of probation. We had watched tv— all kinds of shows, really— and the one guy in the drama had gotten what Naruto called, "friend-zoned" by the woman he wanted to be with.

The only difference here was… probably that I don't want to be with Sakura anyway. At least I don't _think_ I want to be with her… Whatever, I just don't exactly want her to be with that Yamanaka asshole, either. She deserved better. She was an esteemed kunoichi in almost every country I went on missions to. Why the hell was she _settling_ for some Yamanaka asshole with a pretty face and my brother's voicebox? She was _Haruno Sakura_ for fuck's sake! Did she not understand how much respect people had for her?

"You're beautiful." He said to her in a romantic tone that echoed sincerity.

A pause.

…That… that son of a bitch… she was eating right out of his grubby Yamanaka hands. I just knew it. I could practically _feel_ Sakura blushing. I grabbed a piece of my bangs out of frustration and pulled. What the hell was wrong with her? Couldn't she see through his bullshit?

"Goodnight."

She didn't say anything the entire time that he walked away. I was about to walk out there and shake her out of her stupor when I finally heard her footsteps move back into her apartment. I was so frustrated I wanted to take something beautiful and just _chidori_ it to death. Was… was Kakashi still awake? It was only eight-thirty and I doubt my stupid sensei has anything better to do right now. So I slid open my window and disappeared as Sakura began washing her dishes.

-X-

After a half hour of looking, I tracked down Kakashi. He had been avoiding me, but decided to stop because I refused to give up.

"What?" He appeared on a swing in the silent, still park, sounding annoyed that I "interrupted" whatever he was doing. I sat on the swing next to him, actually I was frustrated so I technically threw myself onto it, not caring if it would break under my weight.

"You have to do something." I began, because I was beyond saving at that point and he looked at me with a confused expression on his face.

"Are you sick?" He questioned and I wanted to punch his one eye in.

"No." I grit out quickly. "But you have to keep this guy away from Sakura." I explained in more detail this time.

"Why? Do you want her for yourself?" He shot back.

What? No. That was crazy.

"No, but I don't want to see a friend be toyed with." I responded calmly…too calmly. Kakashi picked up on my uneasiness.

"You don't understand why you care." He pointed out, calling me out on my bullshit.

"Not really." I wasn't trying to hide anything anyway and he was right. Kakashi sighed.

"Well, what makes you think Sakura is the one being toyed with? How do you know she's not toying with him?" He asked and I was glad he had changed the subject.

But what. What did he say? How did I know Sakura was being toyed with? Tch. That was stupid to ask. It was obvious…

"Because he's going to her and catching her off guard." Because he was. He was doing unexpected things and catching her by surprise with textbook fucking romance and it was sickening because I know he was just banking on her emotional reactions. All he wanted was sex. Why was I the only one seeing it this way?

Aaaaaand….Kakashi laughed at me. For the first time in my Twenty-one years of life, Kakashi-sensei all-out _laughed at me_. He might as well have pointed at me too. I glared holes through him. What was so funny?

"Sasuke…" He chuckled again. I wish he'd stop. It was weird seeing Kakashi laugh while sober. He almost never did it. "He's 'catching her off guard'? You make it seem like romance is a full-blown nin-battle or a game of shogi or something."

I could hear myself growling. I smashed my palm into my face and rubbed my skin out of frustration.

"You know what I mean. He's being fake to her so he can just fuck her, Kakashi. I'm not an idiot. I see it." Maybe blatantly explaining it would work better.

"So do something about it, if you think she's in trouble, Sasuke."

"Why don't _you _do something about it!" I snapped. Why did it always have to come back to me? I already tried and she practically snapped my arm in two!

"You're her friend." He replied easily, unruffled by my uncalled-for outburst.

"And you're practically her father. You know her better. You do it." I grit back, arms crossed to accentuate my point.

"No. Because I honestly think Sakura may be the one puppeteering the poor fellow." Kakashi responded with his dumb theory.

"That's stupid." I childishly fought back. "Sakura isn't the type to manipulate and machinate."

"But neither is Naruto and look what he did to the both of you." Kakashi pointed out and I opened my mouth, but shut it quickly, because the rebuttal to his statement wasn't going to be intelligent.

I was struck dumb, because he was right. I didn't know Sakura as well as I thought I knew her. I was surprised to realize that she didn't have feelings for me and I was surprised now realizing that she might know how to manipulate men... better than any woman I'd seen so far.

I remained quiet, but Kakashi spoke anyway thankfully filling the silence and chasing away the awkwardness I felt.

"I think she's ignoring him to make him run after her." Kakashi shrugged as he expanded on his theory. But somewhere I knew he was wrong. He wasn't there when it happened. Sakura was genuinely surprised at the door. I knew when she was surprised. I had seen her surprised before. The expressions that were unique to her hadn't changed since she was twelve. Surprise was hard to fake and she _wasn't _faking it. I glared at the dirt beneath my feet. Kakashi was going to be useless.

"You don't think Naruto hasn't threatened to beat up a few of her boyfriends in the last four years, Sasuke?" Kakashi queried and I gave him a perplexed look. What did that have to do with anything? "I mean, you shouldn't feel strange about caring. Naruto cares too. But trust me when I say she doesn't want either of you protecting her anymore. Let her handle it herself. She'll get offended if you step in. Naruto got the lights punched out of him last time he did that."

O…kay? I didn't respond. That was reasonable, I suppose. Sakura had gotten mad and nearly broke my arm when I tried to help… so maybe… maybe I _was_ being an overprotective teammate… I grimaced at the title I had given myself…

"Trust me, his shirts weren't nearly as bright the entire day it took for him to recover. Sakura literally punched the sunshine out of him." Kakashi elaborated in an effort to ease the tension I was feeling.

And I smirked. Because _of course_ she would knock the sunshine out of Naruto. That was _Sakura_.

-X-

I decided to stop there, because I feel like it. Always review! Don't worry, I don't usually respond, so you don't have to worry about me bugging you guys or anything. I really just want to know your opinions and I want to know if I'm doing it right. Lol

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto ™ All rights reserved (whatever that means) and I don't make any money off of this as it is purely fan-based.

See 'ya Later, Space Cowboy!


	4. My Silence and Guilt

KISEKI

|4|

Okay, so I'll openly admit that I didn't know where I wanted to go with this story when I first started writing it, but now I have a definitive goal and I'm excited to get there. Like _really _excited. I'll be combining this story with another Naruto fiction I wrote long, _long_ ago that didn't really go anywhere even though it was a great core idea so hopefully this fiction will not just be funny and romantic, it'll be adventurous and plot-twisty too.

Anyway, enjoy!

-X-

After a tossy-turny night, I heard Sasuke get up and move about his morning routine at around four. He got up, did his business, showered, dried, and dressed. I yawned, listened to the musical "Sounds of Sasuke" in fascination, and grimaced at the nastiness I tasted in my mouth. Bleh. I wanted to say goodbye, but I was in no way, shape or form presentable, so when I heard Sasuke slide open his window, I knocked on my bedroom wall twice.

*knock* … *knock*

For "good" and "bye".

-X-

I had just finished slipping on my gear. My hair was still wet from my shower, trickling tiny, cold droplets down my neck and back. I fished Itachi's necklace out of my drawer and locked it around my neck. I had everything. Kusanagi was on my back where it belonged, my storage seals were filled with food, Sakura's soup, and weapons, _and _I had a kunai pouch filled with three different sets of kunai on my thigh. I was as ready as I was going to be. I slipped my mask on and slid open the window.

But just then…

*knock*… *knock*…

I smirked. It was as if Sakura was wishing me luck. She hadn't slept well that night, and honestly, because she hadn't, neither had I. I could hear her mumbling stuff in her sleep all night. I was mildly annoyed, but found it slightly amusing that she'd have the gall to rub it in my face that she was still lying comfortably in bed, almost _lazily _knocking on her wall, when I had a grueling mission to accomplish. I paced over to the wall anyway, intent on not starting another war, kneeled on my mattress and knocked back.

*Knock*… *knock*…

I hoped she understood the 'thank you' and slipped out, shutting the window behind me as I stuck my feet to the outer wall and launched off. Once I hit the ground I was running top speed to the meeting point even though I was early. If I was lucky, maybe I'd get to take a short nap while waiting for the others to arrive.

-X-

I smiled at the wall. Sasuke had knocked back, even though I thought he would just ignore me. What had Naruto done over the years to improve his crabbiness? I grinned as I thought of Naruto testing Sasuke's patience day in and day out while Sasuke's chakra was restrained. It's too bad I wasn't there to see it. I frowned then. Maybe avoiding them was a mistake these last four years? How much time have I wasted...? Any one of us could have died in those four years and we would have never gotten the chance to eat together again.

On that thought, I decided that as soon as Sasuke was getting back, I was going to go have lunch with him, Naruto and Kakashi-sensei. Nodding at the wall in determination, I shut my eyes to get just a little bit of extra sleep before I had to go run around and find a suitable outfit to wear for Ino's party tonight.

Speaking of which, that's going to be _hell_…

-X-

And so…. There I was four hours later… at the boutique looking for a sexy kimono, my hair freshly trimmed and maintained. Thankfully, I didn't have to lose a lot of length. In my ignorance, my hair had grown and I kind of liked the way it was looking. Who cares if it's not as shiny as when I was little, right? Anyway, the lady at the kimono shop was really nice. She was a chubby obaa-san who sent her grand-daughter (who was thankfully my age) to help me pick out a kimono.

"I think something red and white will look best." She spoke once she got a good look at my weird pink hair and made a face. Her hair was a billowy, _normal_ brown and she had attractive stone-grey eyes. She wasn't muscular, but she was thin and fragile-looking. Sometimes I wished I had a normal color scheme. Girls like this made me feel like a weirdo...

"Ne, Sakura-san?" She questioned almost bashfully as she picked up a kimono off of the wall and motioned for me to follow her to the fitting area.

"Hai?" I responded, watching her open the curtain and motion for me to get undressed. I pulled off my shirt as she cleared her throat.

"How do you… um… you know… be a kunoichi with such vibrant hair? Masato, my brother, says that vibrant colors attract attention when you're trying to hide…" Before I could respond she gaped and started sputtering, red in the face. "I mean, please don't take my question with offense! I didn't mean to be rude, I only meant that it's actually a serious question and—

I laughed hard. She actually reminded me of Hinata a little and I smiled at the memory of my Hyuuga friend.

"No, no Ami-san. It's all right. Sometimes I wear a wig, but other times the color helps me. Iryo-nin are very adept at dodging. It would be better for an enemy to attack me first, since there's a smaller chance of them actually hitting me." I smiled and responded and she grinned widely back.

"That's amazing. I always dreamed of being a kunoichi!" She revealed. Interesting.

"Maybe you should try being a nurse at the hospital. If you're any good at chakra control they'll start teaching you right away. Tsunade-sama would be happy to have another nurse." I smiled and offered as she began wrapping the red kimono with white Sakura patterns around my body. The kimono was sexy and modern. Its sleeves were wide, but they weren't as billowy and distracting as traditional kimono sleeves. Its length stopped right at my knees and the split on the side rode about halfway up my thigh. Since it was modest and demure up top, it made my breasts look bigger than they actually were. I smiled at what I saw in the mirror. It was perfect. Ami-san was a kimono-genius.

"Maybe if I have some time in between running the store with Oba-san and helping Masato with the farm… In any case, this looks beautiful on you! I thought it was fitting since you can move in it. It _will_ be a mostly shinobi crowd, correct?" Ami queried and I nodded.

"Yeah, actually. You're pretty sharp, Ami-san; this was a genius idea." I complemented and she blushed deeply. Ah, she had even bigger confidence issues than Hinata had. Maybe that's why she never pursued her dreams of being a kunoichi... I bowed to her and said I'd take it and any accessories she'd be willing to suggest.

After more comfortable conversation, I paid for the kimono, a long, silky ribbon, some hair accessories and jewelry and left. I wanted to squeeze in a shift at the hospital, but I knew that that wouldn't be beneficial tonight. If I wanted to look good, I would have to practice doing my newly-trimmed hair, which was going to suck because I was about as good at doing hair as a demon was at being good...

-X-

Nine hours later, I still couldn't get my hair the way I wanted it. Sick of washing and drying it over and over, I decided that it was time to visit TenTen. She would never tell you because she's so tom-boyish, but after pinning her own hair up for many years she was a hair-master. So, I grabbed my little draw-string bag, pinned it to the inside of my sleeve, put a very light bit of makeup on and headed out to her house. I knocked on the door twice, oogling the size of the place. Ten-Ten's family owned a weapon's shop in the heart of Konoha's market. Clearly, they'd made a lot of money over the years… Thankfully, Ten-Ten answered the door, her hair down and straight, her bangs swept to the side, brown eyes accented with gold shadow and dressed in a pretty, green kimono with beige poppies stitched into it. I smiled at her.

"Oi Ten-ten!"

"Sakura!" She smiled, and then looked at my messy hair. I don't even know how I managed to walk here with confidence to tell you the truth. I probably looked like a mess. "Need help?" She grinned, knowingly and I laughed. Yes, I was going to need _a lot _of help…

"You know it."

"Come on in." She ushered me past her and shut the door. In her living room, Lee was doing push-ups.

"Sakura! You're looking youthful and beautiful!" He complemented, but continued his work, even though he was in a relatively fancy foreign fighting outfit colored green. Lee had taken to growing his hair, in honor of Neji. It was now smooth and flowing down his back. His bangs were wispy, long and he kept them out of his face with his hitai-ate.

"Thank you, Lee." I said softly. I hadn't forgotten that I didn't save Neji in time… that the diamond seal on my forehead hadn't been ready until about fifteen minutes after his death. His beautiful face still haunted me in my sleep. It still hurt me personally that I was still so useless after so much training. It should have been me dead on that tree branch, not Neji. I think kami-sama only let me live because I was needed to save Naruto. And for those of you confused, that was not meant in a selfish way; it was the least I could do to just _start _on atoning for Neji. Ten-Ten had been speaking on her way upstairs to her bedroom, but I hadn't exactly been listening, lost in my thoughts of their late teammate.

"Sakura? Are you all right…?"

"What? Um yeah, I'm just really tired. I don't sleep very well." Well, I'm an idiot. "Sorry." The apology was lame but Ten-Ten laughed it off anyway. Good Kami-sama she's a strong person. I'd be locked up in a looney bin if I ever lost Naruto, Sasuke, Sai or Kakashi-sensei. I entered her room, filled with posters of singers and weapons and sat at her wooden vanity. I pulled all of the little accessories out of the drawstring bag on my sleeve and set them on the table. I put the long, dangling bone earrings in my ears as she combed my head up into a perfect bun on my head and only needed a pin or two to do it. Amazing. I watched the mirror in fascination as she pinned the red and gold combs into the bun and stuck a few red sakura hair-charms into the side of my head. She pushed my bangs over to the side and boom, just like that, I was done.

I hadn't realized that all that had actually taken about an hour since I had really screwed up the way my hair was laying before. But still, Ten-Ten had smiled the whole way through and it was time to go.

-X-

The grand hall of the Yamanaka compound was open-air and looked like a festival with Ino sitting on an ornate wooden chair atop a large, colorful platform. Gifts were almost flowing over the table at the bottom of the platform, In front of Ino. Smirking, I took the tiny scroll out of my little drawstring baggie and unsealed the four gifts for her. I carefully placed each gift onto the table and climbed the stairs to meet Ino. She was smiling widely at me the whole time, dressed in a beautiful white and purple traditional kimono. She had traditional hair accessories and even wore the traditional wooden sandals and ribbon that went with the whole outfit. She looked like a princess from a period movie. Even her hair was intricately done, rather than being up in its usual ponytail. I felt rugged next to her in my tall black nin boots and arm guards, but at least I looked like a sexy, dangerous kunoichi.

"Good Evening, hime-san. Haruno Sakura at you service." I joked playfully and bowed. Ino slapped my shoulder and pulled me in for a hug.

"Shut up Sakura, you're not _supposed _to look any better than me on _my _birthday, y'know? Even though you could." She winked and I smiled broadly back. Ino must be in a good mood to be throwing complements around.

"Where's the sake and where are the boys?" I asked, ready to start drinking people under the table. Parties weren't exactly my thing. They were only my thing during missions and when I wasn't known by anyone. Other than that, the bar was where I belonged.

"Sakura! You're no better than Tsunade-sama!" Ino glowered. "Speaking of which, she's been asking for you. She says she needs someone who can drink on her level. The bar is back that way."

Ino gestured with her thumb behind her and I smiled, hugging her again.

"The dancing will start soon, you know." She placed a fist at her hip when I paled. I didn't dance. Not with people I knew. With a stranger? Sure, no problem, but not around people I knew.

"Ino!" Suddenly, Temari flung herself past me and onto Ino, and I heard a dejected Shikamaru sigh behind me. I turned to smile at the Nara, silently thanking him and his girlfriend for saving me from raining on Ino's dance party. Wow, Shikamaru looked so much older. I hadn't seen him in a while and I almost gasped— was that _actually _facial hair growing on his chin!?

"Shikamaru." I greeted demurely.

"Yo, Sakura. Did you see Naruto or Choji anywhere?"

Ino glowered over Temari's shoulder and let the Suna kunoichi go.

"Those two are having a ramen-eating contest. Once they heard Teuchi-san was cooking for my party they lost it and ran. I'd never seen either of them move so quickly in my life!" Ino complained. Temari snickered, looking sexy in a black, foreign dress with a red dragon pattern on it. Shikamaru looked bland in grey hakama and a white tunic, but that was his thing. I took their conversation as a chance to slip behind Shikamaru and hopped over the platform. Hastily, I made my way to the bar past beautiful dancers on a stage, moving their bodies in perfect sync to the traditional music playing in the background. Not stopping to watch them, I kept going, passing all sorts of food and game stands until I reached what I found: a huge, open bar with a small dance area in front of it playing up-beat music. I saw my pig-tailed shisho and ran to her. Once I was seated next to her, she clapped me once on the back and started pouring sake into a rather large cup that she seemed to already have ready and waiting for me. Only a few chairs were filled at the far end of the bar, and three guys were passed out on the floor next to Tsunade-sama's bar stool.

"Ah Sakura, finally." She greeted with red cheeks and an easy smile. I had to smile back at her. She had really relaxed after the war. Naruto was like a son to her and I could tell she enjoyed having him around, helping her with the work and the decisions that needed to be made for the village.

"Yes, finally." I responded and then grinned at the alcohol. My goal tonight was to get so smashed I wouldn't see the faces in my dreams. I wouldn't see the blood and I wouldn't see the violence or have any other nightmare related to my guilt or my imagination.

-X-

A few hours later, I was decently tranquilized and Naruto came to sit with me, Hinata at his arm, gazing dreamily up at him as he spoke in soft, romantic tones. They greeted me, and asked about Tsunade-sama.

"She left. 'Village to run. You know." I replied shortly. I wasn't really open to talking; not when I was this far gone. I just wanted to be stupid. I grinned, deciding I'd forgive Naruto for what he'd done because it turned out for the better anyway.

"We should set Kakashi-sensei's mask on fire when we find him." It was an evil idea but it was great and sounded even better as it came out of my mouth. Naruto looked horrified at first, but then he remembered that this was a festival and he should be having fun because he's young and he _can_.

"_Or _we can get him so drunk he'll pass out and _then _we can take it off of him, take pictures and use them for blackmail!" _There_ was the Naruto I knew!

"Yes or we can do that. But knowing him, he'll still probably kawarimi even if he's passed out drunk!" I grimaced, but it was true! Kakashi-sensei was just like that. He never let you get him. Ever. Sasuke never let you get him either… except… and here I started laughing madly because Naruto would find it funny...

"You wanna know what I did to Sasuke?" I smirked, devilishly. Naruto looked shocked, but chuckled and even Hinata, now two drinks in, leaned over to listen, her big boobs squishing against the bar. I was jealous of those boobs. I glared at them and she blushed. They were HUGE even in her kimono!

"Hinata… I glowered. Why don't you share with the rest of us depraved girls?" I reached over and poked her boob and she blushed and tried to stutter something in response. Naruto came to the rescue and spoke instead.

"S-Sakura-chan!" Naruto chastised, then he punched me square in the shoulder and I cackled, remembering what I was about to say. Something about Sasuke? Right! OH right!

"Anyway, I smeared icing all over Sasuke's doorknob. He thought it was my crap."

And Naruto burst into a fit of laughter, Hinata chuckling away with him.

"What made you do that?" Hinata asked, curiously.

"He flushed the toilet and made my water cold while I was showering." I smiled at the memory; I didn't know why.

"What why? Teme's not _that _funny. He's still alive, too?" Naruto responded, disbelieving.

"I don't remember why." Because I really didn't. Everything was becoming fuzzy and unclear, but the room wasn't spinning or twitching yet. Good. I was still good to go. I tapped the bar in front of my bottle of sake and the faceless bartender cleared it away, pulling out another one, commenting on how "shinobi sure could drink". I smirked at that. Yes, yes we could. We were _great _at drinking; at least I was. I started to sip right from the uncorked, warmed bottle that was placed in front of me. Yummmm…. Neji, Shikaku-san, Inoichi-san, Obito-san, Itachi-san… they all disappeared and the guilt that usually weighed on my shoulders started to evaporate. Beautiful. Who were those people again? What were their names? I couldn't remember. All I could think about was the awesome date I was going to have in a week or so. Should I drink for a whole week straight until then? _Can_ I drink for a whole week straight and survive with Iryo-ninjutsu? Probably. It could be done. Wait a sec, Naruto was saying something.

"Sakura-chan?"

"What?" I responded dumbly and sipped more. Naruto's eyes were _so_ blue. I was an idiot. Naruto had grown to be a fine man and a great shinobi. I was such an idiot for not seeing that sooner. I was always an idiot. I'm still an idiot. Hinata was probably the smartest, prettiest and awesomest kunoichi in the world and here I was, dumb Haruno Sakura, only good for running hospitals and organization. Hah! What a joke, I am. I couldn't even save… who again? …Oh right, Naruto's saying something…

"I _said _when Sasuke-teme gets back from his mission we should go have ramen together!" He shouted loud enough for the other patrons to hear over the sound of the music and cheer. A few heads turned and looked but most recognized the voice and chose to let it be, favoring their own business instead.

"I'm not deaf Naruto, I'm just drunk." I laughed about admitting to being drunk. Haha! I was _so_ drunk. Wait, what was he asking about? Oh right. Focus, Sakura. Ramen with him and Sasuke. A mild bit of panic hit me and I remembered that I was avoiding that, but then I remembered that I wasn't avoiding it anymore and so I nodded happily and agreed.

"Sure we can have ramen when Sasuke gets back." I responded. My body was starting to feel deliciously numb.

"Is it a promise?" He asked, a bit of an edge to his voice.

"Yeah sure." Because me and Sasuke were friends, right? We were all friends again, right? So why _not _do things that friends do, right? Whatever I was going on a date. Who was it with again? Blond hair, green eyes. Similar to Ino… Oh right! _Steel_. Suchiru. I wonder if he's any good as a shinobi. He must be if he's anbu, right? But is he like, strong enough to compete with Naruto or Sasuke? Who knows? Actually, who cares. He's hot. That's good enough. If he's nice he can stay, if he's an asshole I'll just kick him to the curb and apologize to Ino later. Whatever. I had a date.

They were saying something again. What?

"— So I'll see you in about a week okay?" Naruto's hand was on my shoulder. When did that happen?

"Hu— all right." I responded before asking what he was saying again. I didn't want to seem rude. Hinata gave me a quick hug and despite my envy for her I hugged her anyway. She had a beautiful heart, one that I should strive to model mine after. Actually, I loved Hinata. She worked so hard! She deserved all of the beauty and good in her life. Jeez, what was I talking about before? Something negative? Ah who cares. … … … I get to look sexy on my date in a week. I grinned at Hinata and watched her leave.

Next, I was visited by Sai. By then, I was drunk enough to start hanging all over him. I had him in half a headlock that I wanted to say was a hug but it was sloppy.

"You know, you know, Sai!" I laughed, as he tried to drink his sake with me jerking him around. I couldn't stop laughing because I was _so _stupid back then, and now. I'm so stupid now too. "When you first showed up." I cracked up again, my one arm was _still _slung over him as he was sipping his own _very _large bottle of sake. "I seriously for a second thought that you were Sasuke because your hair and your eyes are so friggin' _Sasuke_. But you know what? Fuck it! You turned out to be so awesome!" Yep. I didn't really know where I was going with that… but who cares! I have an awesome friend and teammate!

"Mm you too Sakura. I thought you were a bitch and you reminded me of this girl I used to train with."

I laughed because I _was_ a total bitch to Sai when we first met. I was a total bitch _around _Sai when we first met.

"Ah man, I was such a bitch. I think I still am." Again I laughed because who the hell cared if I was a bitch? No one. No one gave a shit. Not even my parents. My mom was pregnant again and they were focusing on opening up hotels all over fire country. No one was around to care and it was _great_.

"I don't think you're a bitch." Sai laughed. "I think you're a man. You drink like one." He placidly commented. He was absolutely right. Sometimes I thought I was a man too. And here we laughed together as I was still hugging him. I rubbed his scalp with my knuckles and he laughed because by this point his face was probably numb too, so I doubt he could even feel the pain of my knuckles rubbing against his soft spot. Wait, what were we laughing about again? Who knows? It was funny. I was laughing so hard I was crying.

"Ah. Ino's probably looking for me." He suddenly remembered. And I stared at his pale face in horror. Yes. Yes that's right. Ino _was _probably looking for him. Oh no, he'd be _dead _if he didn't get back to her on her birthday. And it would be _my _fault for keeping him here!

"Oh kami-sama, Sai! Go find her! It's her birthday! Gimme that bottle and stop drinking! You guys have to be able to fuck later!" It was a half-assed excuse in order to steal his bottle so the bartender didn't have to deal with me again, but who cares? I used it anyway. I grabbed the bottle, but he held onto it, and pushed my face so I was off of him. I tilted backwards a little, but proudly held myself steady on the chair.

"It's mine." He replied half-seriously and tugged on the bottle. I refused to loosen my grip.

"No, it's mine now. You have a girlfriend to go find." I reminded.

Sai glared at me. I glared back at Sai, and then… the funniest thing happened… I snickered because _nothing _happened and soon enough, we were both holding this _stupid _bottle of sake and laughing our asses off at _nothing_.

"I'll go find Ino when I'm finished this bottle." Sai settled.

"Good plan. I'll help you finish it."

"You have your own." He frowned again, but the frown didn't stay for long because he knew I was going to say something totally stupid next.

"So what. I'm the princess of all alcohol. It's in my royal jurisdiction to drink it." And I snaked my tongue to lick the top of his bottle to which he cried out in horror at and I cackled.

"It's mine! It's all mine! You have to have it from the little glass now!" And I tried to pour the sake into his glass as best as possible. I only spilled a little. Sai laughed at me as I was pouring. I laughed at myself and ended up spilling more. He started to drink from the glass. To my distaste, there was only a little of sake left at the bottom of the bottle, so I chugged it, like a thirsty man chugging water in Suna and went back to drinking my bottle.

"You owe me a bottle of Sake." He spoke when he was done drinking from his glass.

"Fine. I'll buy you six when your birthday comes up. Stop complaining." I responded and Sai laughed.

"You sound like a tired husband." He noted. I laughed harder, because I did.

"You sound like an annoying wife." He laughed hard too. He finished his glass, gave me an awkward hug that almost tipped me off of my bar stool and then walked, well, kinda _swayed_ away to go find Ino and then use the bathroom. Or the reverse. I forget what he said.

I ordered a plate of rice and ginger and started eating while drinking. Because food was so, _so_ good. It was good by itself but man, when you're drunk, food is the best. When the table started twitching, I laughed at it. Because tables don't twitch unless you're drunk.

I spent the rest of the party eating cake and drinking away until all the colors and faces around me blurred. I'm pretty sure Kakashi-sensei and some older jonin stopped by to speak with me too but I don't really remember the conversation we had… maybe it was a daydream I had while thinking…

Anyway, after I was thoroughly sure nothing would be haunting me tonight, I hugged and even kissed Ino on the cheek before I left. That was around twelve. I staggered my way back to my apartment and when I got to my door I looked at the apartment next to mine. 312. Sasuke's apartment. That idiot. He was on a mission. He should be drunk with me _and _Naruto and Kakashi-sensei and Sai. That was it… my birthday was happening at a bar… and they were _all _going to go. Whether they liked it or not. I laughed while thinking about slipping tomatoes into Sasuke's hallucinogens… I mean, slipping hallucinogens into Sasuke's whaaat? What was I saying? Was I planning something? Whatever I had to open my door. Focus Sakura… the world isn't spinning _that_ fast.

I ran my key in circles over my knob until I finally found the keyhole. I stuck the key in, flung myself through my apartment and shut it behind me. I staggered to my bed, fell face first down on top of it and slipped into a blank, dreamless, _blissful_ sleep filled with the remainder of my own good feelings and laughter.

-X-

Well that was short and uneventful but it was fun to write. A drunk Sakura is always a fun Sakura. But always remember, **drink responsibly. This chapter was not intended to make drinking look like it's fun. It's actually here so you guys realize that drinking your problems away is a problem. Sakura has a ****problem. **** I cannot express to you how important that is to know. Just because she's a responsible and happy drunk doesn't mean it's all right or sets a good example for you guys. If you have issues, don't use anything to escape. That's ratchet and you guys are waaaaaaaaay better than that. Legit. **

Anyway, please review. I would love to hear your thoughts!

I do not own Naruto ™. That belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and whoever else. I do not profit from writing this; it is fan-made and purely for fun and relaxation.

See 'ya later, Space Cowboy!


	5. More Evil Plotting

KISEKI

|5|

-X-

Yugao and Tetsuo were already at the gates when I arrived. No sleep for me. And to my distaste, the Yamanaka arrived just after I did. Yugao was wearing her tiger mask. Testuo wore the mask of an owl and the Yamanaka wore the mask of a mouse. Tch. He looked like an idiot. I didn't have much of a camaraderie with Sai, but even he made mice look cooler than Yamanaka. Our captain positioned herself in front of us. We lined up in response, the Yamanaka to my left, the Hyuuga to my right.

"Uzuki Yugao. Twenty-six years of age. Specialty: kenjutsu. State your names, Ages and Specialties in that order." Yugao was the same age as Itachi would have been had he still been alive… When I was initiated into anbu, Yugao had been the first to tell me she never believed my brother did it on purpose, and was kind enough to mention that many Konoha anbu suspected something was up, but didn't have the power to say or do anything about it. Yugao, next to Naruto, was one of my first friends and comrades, upon returning to Konoha. All of the remaining jounin and chunnin still distrusted me after the war. It was a relief at the time to know someone was still on my side; that not _everyone _hated me and that I just had a lot of proving wrong and atoning to do. And true to the rumors, her kenjutsu skills were a rarity. I snapped back to attention; Yamanaka decided to pioneer the introductions.

"Yamanaka Suchiru. Twenty-four years of age. Specialty: Kenjutsu and mind-based ninjutsu." Kenjutsu too, huh? I wonder how good he is. It was my turn next.

"Uchiha Sasuke. Twenty-One years of age. Specialty: Kenjutsu and lightning-based ninjutsu." I could have gloated about my sharingan, but I never did and I never will. I kind of wanted to, just to remind Yamanaka who was better than him in a subtle way, but I remembered that I'm more mature than that and that I didn't want him to know that I disliked him. I needed him to be comfortable, so I could observe him, learn his habits, and then decide what to do with him. All in due time, Sasuke… all in due time…

"Hyuuga Testuo. Twenty-four years of age. Specialty: kenjutsu and Byakugan doujutsu." Tetsuo. I had never worked with him before, but if Naruto and Tsunade put a pair of doujutsu-users and two pairs of elite-level kenjutsu _specialists _on this team_,_ then the rebels we were seeking to disband were definitely at least jounin-level _nin_.

"Good. You're all here early so let's not waste time and move out. We have three groups of rebels to permanently disband." Yugao ordered.

Without a word, we took off into the trees and through the woods… little did I know that the _entire _trip through Fire Country would aggravate me…

…Because that _stupid _Yamanaka decided to make it a point to try to flirt with Yugao the _entire _way to our destination point: the forests of Sound.

"So, is purple your favorite color or is that just what your genes picked for you?"

It was a joke, but Yugao finally snapped. I snickered behind my mask.

*whoosh* She paused on a branch. I could practically _feel _the ass-kicking she was going to give him if he didn't shut the hell up.

"Mouse." She addressed him coldly.

"Hai, taicho?" Yamanaka seemed unaffected as he, Testuo and I paused just behind her.

"Shut up." Short, sweet, but effective.

And she moved on, not another word out of her. She was patient; I'll give her that. I had had enough at this point. If it were me, Yamanaka wouldn't have a tongue to further annoy me with anymore.

"Perhaps you shouldn't have pushed." The Hyuuga with choppy brown hair tried to soothe Yamanaka's bruised ego. Hn. I wasn't going to be so nice. Tetsuo took off and Suchiru— even his name was starting to piss me off— looked at me. I said and did nothing. I took off after Tetsuo. Not yet, Sasuke… Not yet…

Truth be told, if Yugao could rough him up for me it would be a lot better for me because I wouldn't be reported. I was an anbu, yes. I had restored the honor to the Uchiha clan, yes, but I was still on thin ice in a sense. I still had to be careful with the way I acted towards people.

And speaking of being on thin ice and wanting to cut people's tongues out, I actually don't know why I talked to Kakashi about Sakura getting duped by this guy. The most logical person to complain to would have been Naruto, because if I did something screwed up (like slice off the Yamanaka's tongue…or cock, whichever) Naruto would have my back and say the guy deserved it, but for some reason I felt weird telling him… maybe because he hadn't told me why he moved Sakura next to me… Oh well. It was too late now. Whatever. I kept moving. Maybe kami-sama felt merciful today, because the rest of the trip to the border of sound was silent.

-X-

Around nightfall, we made camp at the mouth of one of Orochimaru's old bases. I shuddered at the thought of actually _sleeping_ there (again), but if any scumbags were around they wouldn't be brave enough to go in. Orochimaru was famous for boobie-trapping his hideouts, and as his former apprentice it was my duty to go into the tunnels a decent distance and clear them. After doing so, we collected wood and made camp. Tetsuo went out to do the hunting. The woods were silent aside from the insects and nocturnal animals, and as far as I could tell we were the only people around for miles. Sound had been abandoned after Orochimaru's untimely death at my hands. The tiny encampments that littered the forest were just left behind without a thought. We had even passed a few houses that still stood, rotting away under nature's wrath, completely vacant. As for Orochimaru? He had disappeared after the war. Who the hell knows where he went, but he'd be stupid to come back to Sound. He was supposed to be put to death after the war. However, because he kind of helped end it… Tsunade gave him a decent head start before she went looking for him. Sometimes we went on scouting missions searching around for evidence of his machinations but we never found anything. I wondered if my old sensei had gotten better at covering his tracks, or if he eventually just gave in and settled down, like he should… Though the latter wasn't like him. I got to work lighting the fire, which was easy work through the usage of a small katon jutsu.

It's funny how you carry traits from each person who teaches you something. You build similar habits to your sensei. It's funny how Orochimaru had left Jiraiya and Tsunade behind, breaking up their team, but talked about them often when we trained. We were the same in that aspect. I had left Naruto and Sakura. I had broken our team up… for good and reminisced and talked about them often, though never to anyone else but myself... I frowned at that thought… maybe I _hadn't_ destroyed our team "for good". I thought about my and Sakura's "wall conversation" that morning… yeah… maybe not for good. Maybe there was still something there to salvage…

"Cat." Yugao's voice interrupted my thoughts.

"Mn?"

"I was just asking you a question." The mouse repeated.

"What is it?" I hadn't realized they were talking. How fucking tired was I?

"Who should take first watch?" Yugao repeated for Yamanaka.

"I'll do it." I was already tired to begin-with. Sleep would come and stay easier if I exhausted myself _entirely_ before I slept.

Just then, Testuo appeared. None of us were startled. He had been blatantly obvious, flashing his chakra in a pattern we agreed on upon arriving here. Yugao and Yamanaka had more than decent sensory skills. I just had my sharingan activated. I had seen him coming a mile away. He had four small rabbits in his right hand by their ears, throats slit open. Good kunai skills made the skinning quick and easy work and before long we were skewering the things, sticking them into the fire. A silent dinner later, coupled with the rest of Sakura's soup, I was out on first watch, perching in a tree nearby to watch the campsite from all angles, sharingan _still_ ablaze.

Not even ten seconds in, I had a kunai to someone's throat. It was Yamanaka. He was standing casually across from me, like having a deadly man with a deadly weapon at his throat was no big deal.

"You let me get close." He jeered through his mask, and I had half a mind to murder him right there and make it look like suicide. I put the kunai away instead… my therapist called that "a dangerous thought".

"If you had been an enemy I would have let you get closer... you can see the blood better that way…" I deadpanned, because I was in no mood for his peppy bullshit. I was tired and he had been pissing me off the last couple of days…

…

Dick….

"Jeez, touchy aren't we? Relax, I just came here to ask you a couple of things."

Was today "make friends with Sasuke" day? Because I sure as hell didn't know that. Today was definitely a bad day to try and "be friends with Sasuke"… really.

"What." I wasn't patient. That didn't sound patient. Even if I back-tracked and replayed my response over and over I wouldn't find a speck of patience in my tone. None.

"Well, I heard you were Sakura's teammate after the academy. I wanted to know if you know what she likes." He was smiling, trying to be "the good guy". Fuck him; I wasn't buying it.

_She likes me, now fuck off._ The thought was fleeting, vicious, and selfish. And I _wanted _to say it, but I held back because that thought even scared me with how… _protective_ it sounded. It felt weird to guard a person that I had discarded with every fiber of my being, even in my mind. No, I definitely wasn't going to focus on that thought. Let's just put it away for later…

"I don't know. I wasn't focused on her before I left." My tone was cool, decently calm.

And truthfully, I really didn't know much about Sakura. I really hadn't cared about her until recently. But more importantly, _why_ the hell was I being honest with him? He didn't deserve it. He played the field, obviously. He was after Yugao's ass, as well as Sakura's. Any guy who was a decent friend would have punched him in the throat by now… aside from nii-san. Nii-san would have tricked him into looking like an ass. But I didn't have the patience for that kind of finesse. Maybe if I managed to make himself trip up with genjutsu at the hospital… I would have settled it there, but it was too late for that. I was just angry now and my anger made me sloppy, so neutrality was the easier thing to cling onto. I had to play his game now.

"Oh, that sucks. She's really hot, you know. And accomplished." I could _hear_ the excited grin in his tone.

That made that hell in my core burn again. What, did he _get off_ on fucking women out of his league? And I'm not talking about looks. I'm talking about women with self-respect and honorability. He was scummy, and neither Yugao nor Sakura were that way. They deserved better. I shrugged coolly in response because any second now I would lose my shit. I could feel the killing intent trying to leak out into my chakra, and it was making _me _nervous because I haven't felt this… I don't know… pissed off (?) in a while. Was "pissed off" even a good term for what I was feeling? I definitely felt my conscience screaming "justice" at me, and I couldn't exactly deliver justice right now because if I killed a Konoha shinobi to spare two of my teammates from inevitable suffering I'd _definitely _get kicked out of Konoha and hunted down later. I valued my bonds with Naruto, Sakura and Yugao more than I valued punching the shitty personality out of this Yamanaka so I kept it together, thankfully.

"Hn." Good. I was convincingly uncaring. That was something I was always good at.

"Wait, that sounds like you never even fucked her after the war… Did you?" He laughed in disbelief and here I thanked kami-sama that Kurama was never sealed inside me because I'd have unleashed it six billion times by now, and without a doubt, Yamanaka would have been a victim at some point… In fact, he'd have his face ripped off five minutes ago and wouldn't have gotten the chance to talk about anyone fucking Sakura in the first place.

Play his game, Sasuke… play his game. If he wanted to be an asshole, I'd be an asshole too.

"No. Never did." I played it cool. I played it so cool I felt cold, but that was probably because I was aggravated beyond belief. My fingers felt icy and my blood was pounding in my ears. I felt the adrenaline settling into my bones, making me more of a predator than I already was. I felt the way I felt when I heard those Konoha shinobi talking about my brother at that tavern before I knew the truth about everything so long ago… I felt _murderous_. Kami-sama help this Yamanaka because when I finally get my claws into him…

"Holy shit and here I thought that since you guys lived next to each other…" He trailed off and I felt my brain urging my hand towards the kunai pouch on my leg.

"No, nothing like that. She's fair game. Go for it if you want." Okay, now I _definitely _can't fuck this up. The "Sasuke is on your side" seed is in his head now and I can't fuck up. I would have to watch him like the hawk I am from now on and slide in at the perfect moment and trip him up… I would have to tell Kakashi my plan… my stupid but suave sensei was the only one who could help me now… and maybe my nii-san if he wasn't partying in the afterlife.

I smirked, thinking about Itachi partying and it made me feel better. Nii-san wasn't the type to go out and dance. He _did_ have a sense of humor though. Maybe he would have been easy-going like that if he wasn't born a prodigy and if all of that never happened… Hah. Itachi dancing with some stupid girl… I'd be ten years old, helping him fight all the women off.

Yeah… happy thoughts…

"All right, dude. I'll see you after your shift."

He clapped me on the back, something for which I almost murdered him for, and disappeared. Thank kami-sama because I… I wasn't patient enough. I had to be more like Itachi. Itachi would let him think he had the upper hand _ .ly. _Itachi wouldn't be tearing at the seams to get to this guy's throat, no. I had to be _way _more patient. The guy would get what he deserves, once I had the right people on my side to help me. Shit, I should actually have Ino help me out… if she could keep her mouth shut.

…

She knew my mind rather well, actually… She was there after the war, with the other therapists. I had to talk to her at length at one point and she was surprisingly caring and confidential when it came to her job. She also had known exactly what she was doing. She helped me with a lot of my post-traumatic stress and it would be _sick_ to get Yamanaka's own Clan Head against him. I smirked. Actually, I knew _exactly _how I was going to go about this… maybe… But I would have to play it cool. I couldn't move too fast once I was back in Konoha… The puzzle pieces starting clicking in place and I thought about everything step by step as I completed my shift.

-X-

Midday we all arrived in Kan. It was nicknamed the "Pipe Town". Not surprising, because everything was made of pipes; Pipes as far as the eye could see. Even the residential houses were round and pipe-shaped. Everything was grey and bland; nothing like Konoha. It actually reminded me of Amegakure. Maybe Ame got its materials from this town…

Regardless, we trickled in wearing our disguises. Yugao was dressed as a frail, weak "captive" in a torn up blue kimono, "owned" by Yamanaka, who was dressed like a pretty-boy businessman in a flashy kimono. Me and Tetsuo? We were the "body guards". I wore a black bandana to keep my hair disguised and popped in brown contacts. Tetsuo wore his bandana around his eyes and we both had matching black hakama and white tunics, our swords at our sides, chakra deeply suppressed. The game plan was to meet each group of rebels on their territory disguised as a different group of people.

Later that day, a man by the name of Oren died. Yugao had cut his throat after Yamanaka "sold" her to him. All we had to do was wait a few hours until he tried to get busy with her in his room. When he was dead we moved. The next scenario was different. We all looked like rebels. We met with the leader of the second group to the south of town. Word hadn't spread yet that the first guy was dead, probably because the people under him still thought he was screwing his concubine in his bedroom. Regardless, we were making beyond excellent time.

Anyway, this guy wanted us to fight his best swordsmen. I smirked because the job was for me, thanks to a nod from a "one-eyed" Yugao, wearing an eye-patch and blue bandana. I put the entire room of twelve swordsmen in a realistic genjutsu, including the leader. We slit his throat quietly and placed him upstairs in his bed. When the swordsmen woke up, they thought that we had lost and we played along as they kicked us out. They thought that their master went upstairs to sleep and asked not to be disturbed. Weak minds were easy to trick with the Sharingan… I was smirking as we moved to our next destination.

The third group was to the east of town, near the border of rice country. It was night by the time we made it to the last guy. He liked money and he liked stealing it. So Yugao and I pretended to be a merchant couple, selling fine jewelry. When the doors locked behind us and twenty nin came rushing in from the hallways around us, ready to capture us and take our money, I decided genjutsu was the least painful way to deal with them; after all, it's not their fault they're stupid and Naruto would want me to kill as little as possible. So Yugao had leapt at the lead man like a pouncing tigress, drawing a short sword from inside of her kimono sleeve. But the guy was good, and he wasn't taking any chances by looking into my eyes, so the fight was on. He was surprisingly good at swordplay. Apparently, he was a Kirigakure reject who almost made it into the seven swordsmen of the mist… _almost_. He was a drunk and a rapist and he didn't help in the war either. In short, he was a soulless dirtbag… but a _skilled _soulless dirtbag.

I heard a whistling sound through the air a little too late. An arrow had pierced Yugao through her right arm. Fuck. Where did the archer come from? Had he heard the commotion? No, we were silent. Had he been there to whole time? I looked at him, up on the second floor in front of the wooden railing. He had no chakra, just archery skills. I leapt at the wall while Yugao switched arms, dancing with the enemy with her non-dominant side. The archer moved to shoot her again, but I stopped his arrow with a shuriken. Like hell I was going to let him destroy one of my friends.

Good. He was focusing on me now. He realized I was more of a threat to him than Yugao. I dodged one, two, three arrows before I came up on him and got in his face. He wasn't very good at close-quarters combat. No skills in taijutsu. Zero. He threw a sloppy fist at my face, to which I dodged and then ducked under his bow, which he was trying to crack me across the side of the head with. Well, at least he wasn't stupid. His best chances of hurting me were to hit me where it counted; he knew that much at least... Too bad for him I was good at defending my vitals.

I punched him right in the face. He spun. I caught his arm, broke it, and hit the pressure point at the back of his neck just as Yugao cried out below. I dropped back down to the lower level of the traditional mansion like a beast from hell and threw multiple kunai at the dark, spiky-haired asshole. His previously crisp navy kimono was now shredded in certain spots and he was bleeding, thanks to Yugao. He wasn't going to stand much longer if he lost any more blood.

I inched forward, kusanagi now in my hand. And thus, our dance begun as Yugao staggered back to lean against a decorative wooden table… About ten seconds in he realized he was outmatched. I was better at kenjutsu than he was. His brown eyes flashed and water spat from his mouth as he turned to ninjutsu for help. The pressure of the blast of water cut my face a little, but I kept my eyes open. I ducked to the side and released a stream of electricity into the water, still flowing from his mouth…

His eyes widened when he noticed my raiton coursing through his suiton like it was going out of style. He couldn't cut off his flow of chakra fast enough and I practically heard his brain cells sizzle as the lightning electrocuted his insides. He dropped, seized and died, complete with foam coming out of his mouth. When the light left his eyes for good, I grabbed Yugao's uninjured arm, slung her over my shoulder and ran as fast I could to the main room, stole some necessary documents, and met the others just outside the mansion.

"Either of you iryo-nin?" I asked, once I saw Tetsuo's face in the trees above.

"I know the basics but we have to get out of here first . The sentries in the woods moved close enough to feel your chakra. They're on their way now and we have to either run or hide. There's too many of them. They're all jounin-level." Testsuo responded, a bit of sweat starting to bead at his temples.

He didn't have to tell me twice. We ran at top speed and thankfully, we had a good head start. I decided to carry Yugao on my back, to which she grumbled, but what did she want me to do? Leave her there to drag herself behind us as she bled all over the place? No. That wasn't going to happen. Once we got far away enough, I summoned a few hawks and we were out of there, performing a relatively clean escape. Tetsuo performed emergency field surgery to remove the arrow and heal Yugao's gashes while we flew. About thirty minutes later, we popped a few soldier pills and kept moving on foot. I smirked because we were _way_ ahead of time. I realized that that's why Tsunade had chosen us: she liked to kill the really bad things in the cradle, before they got the chance to flourish. We were the quick team, at least Yugao and I were when we were with Ishi and Tora. Chances are that there's a team that's going to head out and make sure these groups are permanently disbanded once we return. Meaning, if there was a scumbag who was going to take over the lead position after we just stunted their group's plans, they were going down.

Yugao was currently being carried by Tetsuo. A strange gurgling sound hit my ears as we were jumping from tree branch to tree branch and I looked over at the Hyuuga to find that he was now covered in all of Yugao's vomit… it was tinged in black… and I knew exactly what that meant… That arrow was poisoned. I didn't know if Tetsuo was horrified to see that Yugao's innards were tinged black, of if he was horrified at generally being covered in vomit.

Fuck. We still had a whole day and then some before we got her to the village… It was going to be a rough and stressful trip back and I partially wished that I was the one who got shot instead. I was better at handling poison than any other anbu I knew. I would have been slow, but okay on the way back had it been me, but Yugao… (?) Yugao was a different story. Her condition was worsening _rapidly…_

Nii-san… if you're watching… help…

-X-

Day three… and a half. I was just enjoying my mid-afternoon lunch, munching on some dango in my office when—

*BOOMSMASH!* I jumped, chakra scalpel in hand at the sound of my door being busted open. It was my head nurse: a brown-haired woman with soft, green eyes named Azumi. She looked panicked and disheveled.

"Sakura-sama!" She cried as if the village was being invaded again. "Team Tiger is back, one needs a blood transfusion! We think she's poisoned!"

Shit. Yugao-san! I left my dango to waste away on the surface of my desk and ran to the O.R.

-X-

Now I was unhappy. Yugao looked pale when the nurses made us sit outside of the O.R. I grimaced. I shouldn't have stopped to get those papers. We could have been here minutes earlier and she'd have a mildly better chance at life. I ran a hand through my hair and then heard the distinct sounds of clicking and a pair of sandals briskly coming down the hall. I looked over. It was Sakura. She looked at me and nodded in greeting, her expression serious.

"Sakura-chan." The dirty Yamanaka smiled, relief in his tone. I ignored him and continued to stand stiffly, arms crossed across my chest because if I paced I'd probably hit a wall because I felt useless.

"Come in with me. You're going to learn something today." Was all Sakura said to me as she walked past, only responding to Yamanaka with a nod. Entranced and intrigued, I followed her through the doors of the O.R.

"Sharingan on, Sasuke." She chastised as she read the medical chart that she grabbed off of the doors before she strode through. I obeyed because she was the doctor and that was my teammate and comrade dying on the table in this sterile-smelling hell. I still hated hospitals. I hated them since I woke up in one years ago the day after my family died. I don't think I'll ever stop hating hospitals. I don't know how Sakura stays sane after working in one all day.

"Watch everything I do and remember it, Sasuke." So I did. I watched as she coolly pushed aside the nurses, who were frantically trying to pump blood into Yugao. I watched as they all stood aside and let Sakura through. I watched as she snapped and told them to get her two large bowls of clear water. She cut off Yugao's disguise and revealed the anbu uniform beneath.

"Tetsuo's work was good." She smiled gently, and I noted that there wasn't even a scar on Yugao's arm where the arrow went through her. Yugao's face was still as pale and sickly as before and she was still unconscious. I watched as Sakura's sharp, green eyes snapped to me. They made me nervous because I had no idea what she wanted me to do and I wasn't used to taking orders from her.

"Come here and hold her down."

So I did, grabbing Yugao's wrists and holding them above her head.

"Watch everything I do carefully." She repeated and so I turned my head and watched.

-X-

It was important for Sasuke to know how to extract poison. He didn't have to know how to create antidotes, but he did need to know how to extract it. Yugao's life was hanging on by an asshair and it was because no one knew how to flush poison out. Sasuke had his sharingan so he'd be the quickest student. His red eyes watched sharply as I formed a chakra scalpel with my right hand. The pinwheels spun as they memorized the way my chakra hummed through my hand. I made an incision in Yugao's other arm. Those eyes memorized the depth. My patient struggled and screamed and Sasuke did his job, holding her down, just as the nurses burst in with two big bowls of purified water. I hated doing this without a topical anesthetic, but there was just no time for that… Every second counted at this point.

The bowls were placed on both sides of the hospital bed. One next to Sasuke, the other next to me. I formed the bubble and started pulling the poison out. It must have burned and I felt bad again when Yugao screamed and thrashed. She was now conscious thanks to the pain, but she was running a violent fever.

I worked quickly, flushing nearly every corner of her body with the water and my chakra before she got any nerve damage. Once most of the poison was out, my task was done and an iryo-nin closed the incision and lowered her temperature with her chakra. Diligently, Sasuke watched the nin do all of that too. He must feel guilty for not being able to do anything up until this point. I knew the feeling.

-X-

Right at that moment I realized that during my struggle for "power" throughout my whole life, I ignored anything and everything that had to do with saving a life. I had felt useless waiting outside the O.R. while my friend was dying. And Sakura… Sakura was the one with power here. She seemed to know how I felt because teaching me what I needed to know to prevent this sort of thing from ever happening again was helping me. I'd be impatient and twitchy out there if she hadn't brought me here with her.

I couldn't help but notice that somehow, she _knew_ what I needed, like she always did. How did she do that? How did she and Naruto just _know_? Regardless, when she began to walk away, scooping a sample of the poison in the bowl into a vile, I followed her, like a lost dog. What she did was incredible. The nurses were smiling now, hooking Yugao up to an IV drip, noting how her pulse and vitals were now stable. Sakura walked out of the O.R. and I was right behind her. I moved past my team, who looked at her with eager faces as she idly studied the color of the poison under the light. It was an ugly purple-black. I grimaced. I had to swallow something like that once… it's how Orochimaru conditioned me to resist poisons.

"She's stable. I'm going to go find or make an antidote to bring her back the rest of the way. You guys can go home or wait here. It shouldn't take long." She murmured half to herself as she walked, not realizing that I was following.

"Where are you going, Uchiha?" Yamanaka had opened his big mouth. Asshole.

-X-

That made me stop in my tracks. Someone lightly bumped into me and took a step back. As I turned around, I realized it was indeed Sasuke who had been following me, still looking extremely tense. _Why_ was he still following me? I hadn't even noticed until Suchiru had said something about it. Strange.

"Sasuke?" I asked. He glared at me. Oh, right. His teammate was dying. I forgot he cared now. I kept walking, waving Suchiru off as he walked with me.

"You know, you should be there with her, if that's how you feel. The next hour or so is going to be pretty boring." Because really, why would he want to sit and watch me do research when someone he cared about was suffering? It didn't make sense.

"I don't care." He wisely didn't comment on what I said about his feelings. Smartass. He didn't fall for the verbal trap I set. Whatever. I shrugged. He could come with me if he really wanted to. He wasn't going to buzz around and ask infinite questions like Naruto would so why not?

"Okay. Did you memorize the technique?" I asked as I turned the corner to find the lab.

"Ah. I don't have enough control to copy the technique." He sounded like he was unhappy with that thought and I chuckled.

"Well, we can't _all _be epic, Sasuke. Sorry." I grinned snidely. Finally he realized that I was more effective than him at something. Congratuations, Sakura! You've reached a milestone!

-X-

I smirked at that. So she was pompous about her inhumane chakra control, huh? Whatever. I still had to kick her ass during a spar at some point.

"We still have to spar." The words tumbled from my mouth before I could stop them. I should've just stayed quiet. What was wrong with me?

"Oh? Why do you mention that all of a sudden? Do you think you can learn chakra control by sparring with me?" She asked snidely in response. "You know, Sasuke, that kind of skill is achieved through hard work. You can't cheat your way through with your Sharingan." She smirked haughtily, as if she had one-upped me somehow, which technically she did. I didn't know shit about chakra control aside from needing some to maximize the amount of jutsu I could use in battle, and didn't realize its importance till now. I smirked, because not knowing something was going to help me stunt that Yamanaka's plans for Sakura. And in case you were wondering, no, I haven't forgotten about him, even though my friend is dying. I'm a great multi-tasker.

"No, I can't. But you can teach me if you'd like. I don't want my teammates to die." I half-lied. Because yes, I didn't want my teammates to die… but my motive? I wanted to be around her enough to make it hard for Yamanaka to get into her pants. I was literally going to cock-block the idiot and learning how to better control my chakra from _Sakura_, his _target_, was the perfect excuse to do so while furthering my arsenal of skills. Sakura had just proved she liked to teach and even though it was a tense moment, I proved I was more than capable at learning. So let the games begin, Yamanaka asshole…

-X-

Eventually we ended up at the end of a hallway and Sakura slid a keycard into an electronic lock on a pair of white, double doors. They opened automatically and we walked into a cool laboratory with many countertops that held several empty tubes, vials, and tabletop burners. There was no one there, surprisingly and on the left there was a door that led to an isolated "testing" room that could be seen into from the lab. To the right there was a large, clear box on a platform with two, large holes in it that housed two fire and chemical-proof gloves, so you could safely mix things that may or may not get into your face. Interesting.

This was surprisingly less creepy than the last lab I was in, but that was a given since the last lab I had visited belonged to Orochimaru. I half-expected to walk into that closet straight ahead and see a row of test subjects floating around in tubes, but I doubt Sakura or Tsunade would allow for such atrocities. Sakura reached into a cabinet on the wall to the right, where the clear box was and I watched as she pulled out several clear glass slides and droppers. She grabbed a pair of gloves, a hair net and a mask and sat down in front of a station on a little bar stool. I moved to sit next to her but she held her hand up. I glared at her for being wordless and authoritarian, but his _was_ her territory and her expertise so I let up.

"Go grab a hair net, a mask and a pair of gloves if you want to sit so close. Do _anything_, just don't get your DNA into Yugao-san's blood sample." She spoke sternly as she pulled a little capped vial out with what looked like blood inside of it. When did she get that? Did one of the nurses slip it into her pocket while she was extracting the poison? Probably. I went and got a pair of gloves, a hair net and a face mask. I felt odd, like I had somehow projected myself into Kabuto's body or something… I resisted the urge to shudder. I don't know how she could manage to perform surgeries. I'd probably want to throw up if I had to examine the insides of a still-living person. Killing a person was different than _examining_ a person… way different…

She took tiny droplets of the blood and placed it in many different, tiny vials of glass. Once she was done, she took an entire tray of those tiny vials and took them into what I thought was the closet. I heard the whirring of a machine back there and she came out minutes later.

"That's going to tell me the main compounds of the poison while I look at it here." She explained effortlessly as she sat back down in front of the microscope. Did I have a dumb look on my face? Is that why she felt the need to simplify what she was doing? I shook my head, forgetting about that thought and watched as she placed a tiny drop of the poison onto a slide and stuck it under the scope.

-X-

Damn it. She had been right, earlier. Twenty minutes later I was bored out of my mind, despite how many times I accidentally checked her ass out. How the _hell _did she put up with her job? Where was Naruto? What was so interesting about that _one_ slide? My thoughts were staring to drive me crazy and all of a sudden the machine in the back room beeped. Smiling, Sakura stood up to go get whatever she had to get. Curious, I sat in her seat and stared down into the microscope. All I saw was blobs. And little specs of shiny things. She came back. I heard her steps, but instead of telling me to get out of her way, she chuckled.

"The poison is made of heavy metals, most likely imported from Earth Country on the black market. Its main component is iron. That's why Yugao-san was throwing up. She had an over-dosage of iron and other compounds to break both her liver and other major organs down. Effective, but easily stoppable." She effortlessly explained in a gentle tone. It sounded sexy and again, I had to force myself to think about other things. I thought about the shiny things I saw on the microscope. Was that the iron I was seeing?

I looked up at her from the microscope and nodded. I had nothing to say to her analysis because she was the expert here. If I was to be honest, I'd be lost if I were thrown into her position, but I kept my mouth shut. I watched her rifle through some cabinets and pull out herbs, a mortar and pestle. She added some water and started grinding specific amounts of herbs into the mix next to me. She weighed them all on a small scale before she threw them into the tiny bowl and continued grinding. Once she was done, she heated the mix on the tabletop burner. It boiled in the test tube until it became a purple solution, and then she let it cool down. She went into the cabinet and pulled out a hypodermic needle. Believe it or not, needles actually made me nervous. I had started hating needles after I witnessed Orochimaru and Kabuto prodding them into children younger than myself…

I tensed as she went up to the mixture once it was done cooling and sucked it up into the needle. She capped it, took off the gloves, hair net and mask and started walking out. I stripped off the same extra articles and followed her. She started snickering down the hall and I glared at her because I thought she found my distaste for needles amusing.

"What?" I asked, just to be sure my theory was correct.

"You looked funny in the hair net. Now I know what you'd look like as a lunch lady." Oh. … Okay… And she giggled away at my expense. I refused to reply and give her the satisfaction of knowing she was being annoying and messing with my head. Actually, forget it, I'm going to tell her anyway.

"You're annoying." I half-growled out.

"And aside from your toilet fiasco you're no fun." She quipped back and I _swear _her shoulders broadened, as if it were her _proud_ duty to shoot witty comebacks at me. Again, _what _had happened to Sakura this whole time we hadn't seen each other?

"I'm fun." I shot back defensively. Because I _could_ be fun… I think… Depending on her definition of fun, of course. Right? _Right?_ I smirked, remembering the last fun thing I did…

"You've never seen Naruto and me prank Kakashi." I pointed out, feeling victorious. She wasn't there the time we got him drunk and told him we were taking him to a strip club. We ended up taking him to a men's strip club and ditching him instead. It was funny watching him try to leave when all the women there had clung onto him and begged him to take his clothes off.

"Oh no, Sasuke." Sakura interrupted my nostalgia with a superior tone that slightly enticed me. "_You've _never seen _me_ and Naruto prank Kakashi-sensei." She replied with a small smirk on her lips. I realized then how full her lips were. They looked soft. I looked away. Suddenly I felt a pain in my ribs and I realized it was her elbow digging into them.

"_What_?" I grunted. Really? What was she bugging me for?

"Lighten up. I never thought you'd be the sensitive, easily-hurt type." What? She thought I was _offended_. No, I was just… being weird. Having weird thoughts…

"I'm neither of those things. I was just thinking."

"About how Naruto and I prank Kakashi sensei?" She asked innocently. Yeah let's go with that.

"Ah."

She started cackling evilly to herself, probably remembering the last horrible thing she had done to him, Naruto at her side like a minion from hell. I smirked too, wondering what they possibly could have cooked up for the old man.

"He doesn't like it when Naruto and I prank him." That was more than enough to get my imagination going. Who knows what she could come up with, with her medical background and all…

"Speaking of Kakashi-sensei, do you think he'll ever tell Kurenai-sensei he likes her?"

What?

When the words left her mouth I stopped so hard, my ultra-silent nin boots actually _squeaked_. Wait. _Kakashi_ liked _Kurenai_? I grimaced… But she had a _baby_. But I guess, to each his own. Sakura was now staring at me wide-eyed and started laughing. I must have a shocked look on my face. And damn it, she seemed to enjoy laughing at me.

"I'm sorry, I thought you knew." She giggled.

We continued walking.

"He's secretive." I mentioned, because I had _no_ idea, not even a single inclination as to what Kakashi's feelings were for Kurenai. I seriously thought that he was just going to stay a lecherous celibate… I felt stupid and blind for not noticing sooner.

"He tries to be." She grinned. I looked down at her and wondered how she figured it out.

"When did you realize?" I asked, because I was genuinely curious.

"You can't tell him." She gave a mischievous smile and her eyes glittered when she spoke. She even held up a finger to those full lips I was talking about earlier. Fuck. I never realized how delicate her fingers looked. I wonder if she had callouses on her hands… Most women who touched me had soft hands. I've never slept with a kunoichi. They were bad news. And a lot of the rogue ones wanted my head for a hefty bounty; probably because of a sign Orochimaru posted somewhere. It was just safer to sleep with someone I could be vulnerable around. Shit she was talking again. I hope I didn't miss anything.

"Naruto and I followed him one day. He went to Kurenai-sensei's apartment to see her son." She explained.

"So?" That didn't mean jack.

"Sasuke, don't tell me you have these amazing eyes given to you by birth and yet you can't see that Kakashi-sensei _never _directly goes to anyone…" She deadpanned.

I smirked. Yes, thank you Haruno Sakura, my eyes _are _amazing. But anyway, she had a point. People usually found Kakashi. Kakashi never went to find anyone. He only visited graves, not living people, unless he was invited somewhere. That was a bad habit of his.

"You have a point. Has he been seeing her often?" I asked.

"I think so." She nodded, a small smile on her face. I couldn't tell if the smile was sad or happy. But… why would she be sad? Logically, she should be happy, so I didn't look further into it. Maybe I was reading into her expression too deeply.

"He hasn't been available for training…" I commented instead. Maybe Kakashi was spending all of the time he could be teaching me with Kurenai. That horny bast— well… maybe it was understandable. He _was_ getting older. He needed to settle down at some point… I shuddered at the thought of Kakashi marrying anyone. That was just… not what I had grown accustomed to these last eight years of knowing him.

"Maybe they'll get married." Sakura grinned. "And I can drink at his wedding." What was with her and drinking? Did she have an addiction like her sensei? Hn. Of all the people to gain something _annoying _from their sensei… _Sakura _had gained _Tsunade's_ drinking habits…

"You like to drink." I stated, because I wanted to find out what her deal with booze was… She laughed lightly in response.

"Surprised? I don't like the way I feel the next morning, but yeah I guess you could say I like to drink." She shrugged and I didn't feel like her heart was in her answer, so I pressed further, trying to be as social as possible.

"I don't think you like to drink." I called her out and her face became serious. That was the face a nin wore when their opponent was starting to work around their skillset. I almost smirked in satisfaction. I cornered her there. Let's see if she'll admit it or not…

"I don't think you can out-drink me." Ah, good one Sakura. She changed the topic. I didn't feel like being an asshole so I left the previous topic alone and followed the route of conversation she wanted to take.

"I think I can." I replied coolly. Because I probably could.

"You forget who my sensei is, Sasuke." She replied as we turned a corner. Were we taking the long way back?

"And _you're_ forgetting who _my _sensei was, Sakura." Really? Didn't she ever learn? The body treated alcohol like a _poison._ Currently, I was probably the most poison-immune person in the world, unless some half-minded shaman who worshipped poison somewhere out in the wilderness existed, but I highly doubt that.

"Well, maybe we can see who can outdrink who, one day, Sasuke." She smiled cleverly.

"Is that a challenge, Sakura?" Because I wanted to know if it was. Because if it was, I was going to show her who was the _kage _of drinking, because it certainly wasn't her. Granted, I didn't _like _to drink. I didn't like how sluggish and sloppy it made me feel. I didn't like the feeling of not being able to precisely control my body because it was my best weapon. It kept me alive. But I could damn well _handle _the alcohol; that was for sure.

"It can be, Sasuke." She responded confidently, with a playful glint in her jade eyes.

"Then it's on." I deadpanned.

"Fine. When and where?" She easily quipped back.

"The next big event that has a bar." Because my therapists said I needed to go to more "bonding events" with the rest of my age group.

"My birthday is going to be at a bar. We can drink then." She offered.

"No, everyone's going to want to drink with you then."

"Yeah, that's true… it needs to be fair… I know!" Her face lit up. "Lee is going to be promoted to tokubetsu jounin soon and he'll get his own team! We can drink then!" She ranted excitedly, and for a second, I thought I saw a glimpse of the old Sakura that I once knew. I felt a small smile tugging at my lips.

"Mm." In any case, her idea was good. I did _not _want to be awkward at that event. We turned another corner and there were the doors to the O.R. we were at before. Sakura strolled in, hypodermic needle in hand. Yamanaka greeted her with a gentle smile that I wanted to rip off of his stupid face and Tetsuo gave her a worried look.

"No worries. She's going to be fine. In a few hours the poison will be completely eradicated from her system and she'll be good to go after a day or two of bed-rest. If either of you even _think_ of sneaking her out early, I'll find you, kill you, summon your soul, and force you to clean my apartment in silence forever and ever." She threatened comically, but she still meant it.

Yamanaka laughed, and Tetsuo grinned as she administered the antidote. Once everything in the needle was gone, she threw it into a biohazard container on the wall and lowered Yugao's fever with her chakra.

"Did either of you report to Tsunade?" I asked, suddenly reminded of our responsibilities as an anbu team returning from a mission. Testsuo nodded. Good, I was done here, then.

"I'll see you later." I spoke to Sakura to be courteous for a change. She nodded and I thought I felt some hate in the room, but ignored it, because I'm Uchiha Sasuke and if that Yamanaka thinks he's better than me he can suck someone off, because he's not. I decided to go visit Ino first. If I was correct, she'd be in her office in the psych section of T&I…

-X-

Sasuke had left rather abruptly, but that wasn't a big deal. I pulled up a chair next to Yugao's bed and sat down. If Tetsuo-san and Suchiru were going to wait for her to wake up, I would too. Too bad I didn't have my book with me. I could use some relaxation right about now.

"Thank you for saving our captain, Sakura-san." It was Suchiru who spoke.

"Just Sakura, please. And you're welcome." I smiled back and Suchiru nodded, green eyes sparkling with intensty. Kami-sama he was sexy! Testsuo stood up and stretched. I grinned because it wasn't a "Hyuuga" thing to do. Tetsuo-san smiled back at me when he was done and exhaled in relief.

"That was stressful." He commented. "I'm going to go home and shower." I shuddered at how much his eyes reminded me of Neji's, not their color per se, but their shape. I nodded grimly in return. Tetsuo noticed the tiny change in my expression, but he didn't comment, respecting my privacy. He shook Suchiru's hand and waltzed off. Now that he was gone and left me with Neji's memory, I felt like leaving too. I should go visit Neji and Rin… and Itachi… Abruptly, I stood up.

"So, when do you want to go to Kiri to dance? I need to tell Ino a date." Suchiru's voice interrupted my gloomy thoughts and before I knew it I was smiling again, but I didn't feel _completely _better. In all honestly, I actually felt _great_ when Sasuke was around earlier. Weird, huh? But I guess being his friend was what my heavy conscience needed.

"Tomorrow night. See if it works for her and get back to me, ne?" I responded automatically, sparing my thoughts for later. I'm sure Itachi will be happy to hear that I patched things up with his little brother.

He nodded. "You must be tired after a surgery like that." He commented, a concerned look on his handsome face.

"Just another hour and a half or so." I shrugged back, because it was no big deal. I was Haruno Sakura. I was used to this. Just another hour and a half and then I'd be home, cooking. Suchiru nodded again and I turned and left. Rin and Neji were close by and so was Ino's flower shop. With a quick plan in mind I decided to go and finish the rest of my shift by helping Shizune with some paperwork and organization.

-X-

I made a hasty appointment and had to wait a few hours in order to see Ino. She was still working on ptsd victims from the war, so I read books in her blue and white lobby while her secretary shot me looks when she thought I wasn't paying attention. Somehow, I wasn't interested in women today. All I could think of was my plan. Ino wouldn't open her mouth if I told her what needed to be said during a psych session. I was banking on how much she cared about her job for the secrecy of this entire cock-blocking mission. I smirked into the book, not really reading its pages, much like my sensei. If it worked I was going to tell Kakashi everything, because sharing funny stories helped solidify bonds, right? _And _Kakashi would laugh, thus he'd be off guard so I could grill him about Kurenai afterwards…

"Uchiha-san?" The secretary shyly spoke. I shut the book and looked at her as a nin walked out of the office with an uncertain smile on his face, as if _maybe_ his life would get better. When you were mentally traumatized, that hope, that small _maybe _was all you needed to push forward. Ino was doing her job and she was doing it well. "You can go through that door now. Ino-sama's office is—

"The second on the right." I finished for her and she blushed. "Thanks." I got up and strode through. I knocked on Ino's door.

"Come in!"

I entered and she stimulated the seal that made the room sound-proof with her chakra. I sat down in the cushioned chair across from her large oak desk.

"Sasuke-kun! Are you all right?" She asked out of concern almost immediately, and I wasn't surprised. After knowing what was in my mind, seeing me here after so long _would _be alarming. I held up my hand to calm her.

"I'm fine."

She frowned. "So why are you here?"

"I _am_ having a minor problem, though… that I came here to talk about." I carefully stated.

She immediately became professional. Good. That's where I needed her mind to be.

"Let me get your book."

I allowed her to rifle through her drawers for a minute. She found the red notebook with my name on it, flipped to the most recent page and smiled.

"It's been a whole year and a half since you last had therapy with me." She commented in a positive tone.

I nodded slowly. Yes it _had _been an entire year and a half… time flew…

"So talk to me. What's this visit about?" She got right back on track, remembering that I wasn't exactly the type for idle chit chat when I had things that needed to get taken care of.

"I need to show you before I tell you anything." I stated.

She nodded, already familiar with this process. I activated my sharingan and pulled her into my mind. I showed her everything I overheard in the hospital and everything the Yamanaka said to me in the woods that night _plus _all the times he had hit on Yugao throughout that entire mission. When I was done, she was frowning, arms crossed across her chest.

"Your cousin is _trying _to hurt two of my teammates. You saw everything." She couldn't refute that or call me crazy. She might have if I had told her instead of showed her and I just didn't have the patience for the "are you _sure_ that's what you saw, Sasuke?" today.

"Huh… who knew Suchiru was like that? That _sneak_." I nodded. Sneaky bastard indeed. "Regardless, I can't do anything to step in. That's a complete invasion of Sakura's private life. Also, I'd be violating a few rules." She shook her head and I glared at her. I crossed my arms too because that was bullshit. She _had_ to help me. She was to only one who _could_.

"You have to help me. She won't listen to me." I _showed_ her the memory of Sakura nearly breaking my arm at the hospital. She _knew_ I was shit out of luck at this point. Also, Sakura, her own _best friend _was the real victim here. Yugao wasn't stupid. Furthermore, she was already in love… with a dead man, yes, but she loved someone nonetheless, and that made her immune to bullshit of the kind that the Yamanaka was giving her. She'd be a bitch to him long enough to make him give up… but Sakura? Sakura was always vulnerable with her feelings. She wore her heart on her sleeve like it was a _good_ thing. A guy like Suchiru would turn her feelings inside out with the type of shit he did.

"I can't do anything, Sasuke." She regretfully spoke. It only pissed me off more.

"He's _your_ stupid cousin. You _can_. You _have_ to…" It's as close to pleading as I was going to get. Then, the scariest thing happened.

"Well, I _do_ care about Sakura a lot…" She smirked. Seeing the usually cheerful Ino smirking was a bit traumatizing. I didn't think she had it in her to look _demonically calculating_… "If… If you promise to take her out on a date instead I'll help stop this before it turns into something big." She boldly crossed her arms and took a firm position.

What? No way. And give Sakura the wrong idea about me?

"No deal. I'd rather not turn into the bad guy." Because me taking Sakura out on a date could possibly give her a false sense of hope. I wasn't going to fuck with Sakura's feelings in place of Ino's cousin. It may be in the past, but Sakura had something for me at some point, and it was beyond messed up to dig all that up for nothing. I wasn't going to do it. No way.

Ino sighed.

"Fine. You don't have to _directly _tell her it's a date. Just take her somewhere nice and I'll help."

I wasn't stupid. Sakura was a girl. She'd read into it.

"No." I stood firmly in that decision.

Ino gasped in mock surprise, but then cunningly shrugged.

"Wow, who knew Uchiha Sasuke thought his pride was more important than his teammate…" She spoke in mock disappointment.

That hit home. I did _not_ care about my pride more than my friends… I had changed. How could she even go so far as to question that fact! I grit my teeth. I didn't have to _directly _tell Sakura it was a date. So all I had to do was dress up and take her somewhere nice. That wasn't a big deal. I could play that off. Sakura didn't give a shit about me that way anymore anyway and having an ally so close to my enemy… it was priceless. This kind of thing didn't happen often… I stood up and held out my hand for Ino to shake. She grinned broadly, almost _evilly _and shook my hand with a tight grip. I felt like I was striking an agreement with the king of hell.

"You have a deal, Uchiha Sasuke. I know they have a date coming up soon. They want me and Sai to go with them. Maybe we can do something about it…" She plotted almost to herself as she seemed to zone out.

What the fuck were we going to do? Burn down every club in Kiri? Ino must have noticed my skeptical look because she sighed and crossed her arms.

"We just have to make Suchiru unable to go…" She shrugged.

The gears in my mind started turning… to me, the only thing that would stop me from having sex with a woman that I genuinely wanted to have sex with… was death… The only thing that could stop me from doing anything that I wanted to do in general was death. We couldn't kill her cousin. That was bad for both me and her. So… what's the closest to death? Injury? Meh, that could be healed… maybe…

Suddenly Ino's blue eyes met mine and we both came to the same conclusion.

"Illness." We said in unison.

"How do we make him sick?" I asked, because I sure as hell wasn't going to spoon-feed him shit; that went without saying.

"I'm going to go find out from Sakura when they're going, first. I'll meet you at the park in an hour and we'll think of something then." She spoke.

I nodded and then bowed because that was my way of saying "thank you", and then I left her office, content that I had an ally.

-X-

I placed the tiger-lilly flowers on Itachi's grave, noticing that the hair I had left behind the last time had washed away with the rain.

"Oi. It's me again. I wanted to say thank you, because you helped me out a lot. Naruto, Sasuke and I are going to have ramen together soon. I think Kakashi-sensei and Sai will come along too." I smiled at the stoic picture of Itachi-san and wondered if maybe he _did_ have a tiny smile in his picture… not necessarily on his face, but in his eyes. I knelt in front of the grave and looked over to smile at Obito's grave, where I had already prayed and placed flowers.

"Anyway, sometimes I wonder if you guys are enjoying the peace over where you are. I should have asked when you guys came back what it's like, you know, on the other side, but I think I'm happier not knowing. I brought you flowers this time. I don't know what kind of flowers you like, or if you liked flowers to begin-with but I brought you _my_ favorites, instead. I hope that's not offensive or anything…" I grinned here, because I was totally a weirdo. "You would think I like Sakura blossoms because of my name, but I hate anything that has to do with those flowers. "Pink" and "delicate" is so…. not _me_. But I guess it makes for a good disguise." I shrugged. "You know, because I was so frail when I was little, my parents told me I didn't have to be a ninja. I went into the academy to try anyway and that's where I met Naruto and your brother… It's too bad we couldn't be friends back then… Imagine how different things could have been if I hadn't been so stupid… Oh well, whatever. What's done is done. It can't be undone. Anyway, Itachi-san… thank you for your trouble. I appreciate you listening and caring for my friends. Rest easy and enjoy the tiger-lillies." I placed my hands together, bowed in my already kneeling position and lifted myself to my feet. I smiled one last time at both Obito and Itachi and walked away, carrying he basket I used to carry all of the tiger-lillies in.

When I came back to my apartment, Ino was leaning against my door, smiling. I smiled back at her, feeling light and refreshed after talking to my deceased friends. I guess that was weird when I said it that way, but whatever. I don't care that I'm strange; I feel better and that's all that matters.

"Oi, Ino-pig." I greeted.

"Sakura! So, I heard from a little bird that—

Oh no. I clamped my hand over her mouth really fast. Sasuke's light was on and Ino was being _obliviously, blaringly _loud. She was mumbling into my hand now and I clamped it tighter. To my disgust I saw her eyes gleam and just then, she licked my hand. Grossed out, I shrieked and hit her shoulder, simultaneously wiping her spit off on it and she cackled haughtily.

"What? Don't want—

"NO. I don't want that." Because we both knew she was talking about me not wanting Sasuke to know my personal business, especially my personal business regarding Suchiru, because the scheming expression on her face told me that's what she was here about.

"Oh, we should go inside then." She gestured towards my apartment, but even I knew that was a dumb idea. It definitely wasn't any better than talking out here or screaming my business from the top of the hokage tower.

"Actually… let's go for a walk… to your mom's shop. I was just there, but I think I want some more tiger-lillies for myself…"

"Ah, okay…"

-X-

Good. They were leaving, so it wouldn't look weird and suspicious if I left at the same time Ino left Sakura's apartment. Ino had played that really well. I waited for their chakras to disappear out of my pathetic sensory range and slid open my window. I guess I could go and visit my brother for an hour… It was almost sunset anyway.

-X-

I noticed something at nii-san's grave. There were tiger-lillies there. Hadn't Sakura been talking about tiger-lillies back at the complex and getting more from Ino's mom's shop? I looked over to Obito's grave. More tiger-lillies. Somehow, it made me smile that I wasn't the only person who cared about my brother… That Itachi had all sorts of company in death… not just mine. Still, it was sad to realize that Sakura had been more involved with the dead than with the living. What was up with her, really? Dead people were my and Kakashi's thing. Her bright pink hair didn't belong in a graveyard. I frowned.

"Nii-san…" I sat down next to the flowers and leaned against the stone pillar. I touched a tiger lillie's soft petals and started whispering everything that's been bothering me to my brother's spirit.

"Maybe you're watching over Sakura too…" I contemplated after a period of silence when I was done rambling. "If you are, I don't see how you can't just tell her what I know. She can't be _that _dense, right? I mean, I can see right through that Yamanaka… I wonder if she really _can't _see his game or if she just changed over the years and learned how to play it, knowing that in the end, she won't _let _herself get hurt… Why are women so complicated? Sometimes I wish I was in your position. I'd rather be dead than be caught in something like this, but I can't ignore it either. Maybe… maybe you can help me out too, even though you probably think I don't want your help, I kind of need it. Just a shove in the right direction would be—

Rustling. In the bushes. I stood up and steadied my hand over my kunai pouch. Good thing I was still in my anbu uniform.

"Relax, Sasuke-kun it's just me." Ino shuffled out, dusting leaves off of her skirt. "Sorry, I had to take the woods. Sakura's sensory skills are getting better…" She commented and I relaxed and placed my arms at my sides.

"Well?" What had she found out?

"Okay, so…. Their plans changed. They're going to a club in the Festival town tomorrow night, so we have the rest of the night and all of tomorrow to somehow stop this from happening. I think he's getting VIP booth tickets now…" Ino didn't sound too confident. I must have been gaping at her. Tomorrow night? That fast? …Already? The bastard moved quick; I'll give him that…

"Time's-a wastin'…" She tapped her foot to make a point. I glared at her. I wasn't some evil geniu— well okay I was… But I didn't particularly ha— Okay I did particularly hate her cousin… I could come up with _something_. Where and how can I get my hands on a debilitating virus that would take effect tomorrow _without_ having to hunt down either kabuto or Orochimaru…? Medics… I had to think of vulnerable medi— DUH. The hospital! It was blaringly obvious, I'll just sneak into the hospital and nab an illness that can be put in his food or something… Ino seemed to notice my epiphany and cocked a thin, blonde brow.

"Just tell me if you know of any nurse with high-level clearance at the hospital… and where they keep samples of diseases…" I deadpanned. Because I was seriously going to break into the hospital and steal the flu for my own selfish needs… If I got caught I would have a lot of explaining to do, but it would be worth it…

"Oh god, you're _so_ not medic enough to succeed at what you're about to do." Ino huffed and even though I was offended she was partially correct. "We'll go together. I don't want Suchiru catching something incurable…"

I stared at her in response. Did Ino really just _agree_ to assist me in blatantly _robbing _the Konoha hospital? Interesting.

"What?" She blinked, owlishly. I shook my head and activated my sharingan. The sooner we got this done, the better.

"Let's go."

-X-

Twenty minutes later, a mesmerized nursed was sliding her keycard through the automated lock of the thick, double-doors that led to a germ lab. Ino ran in first, holding the one door ajar for me with her sandaled foot. I put my hand on the nurse's shoulder and bent down.

"Now walk away and busy yourself with whatever you were doing before you saw us. You don't remember seeing us, or leading us here." I whispered into her ear. The brunette nodded, her teal eyes still glazed over as she turned around and walked away, still in a trance, controlled entirely by my unwavering will. She would have no memory of this when she snapped back into her usual self. It was typical hypnosis, and the sharingan made it so much easier to play tricks on people's minds. I felt bad for doing it, but it would be worth it to see the destroyed look on Yamanaka's face when he realized he was _actually _shitting himself at home when he was supposed to be at a club, grinding against Sakura. I smirked, because I felt justified and slid into the doorway of the germ lab.

"Be careful not to knock anything over…" Ino whispered, a paranoid hint to her tone.

She had already donned a pair of sterile gloves and was rifling through a clear, glass cooling container, set at the perfect temperature for the different bacteria and viri inside.

"Okay… I found the one…" She pulled out a tiny vial from the container, and another tiny vial from a seal I didn't notice she had on her left wrist. She dumped half of the contents of the container-vial labeled "X2KXZ" into the one she pulled from her seal. Good thing she came along because I would have stolen any vial and probably would have given her cousin an incurable disease just like she said, which is not what I wanted, of course. She filled the container-vial up the rest of the way with water when she was done stealing the virus from it, dried it off against her skirt and placed it back where it belonged, turning it just slightly so no one would notice it had even been moved. She had a good eye for detail; that was for sure.

"If they decide to do any tests with it, it'll still be potent enough. There's more than enough of this stuff in these vials to make someone sick or to experiment with. No one will ever know…"

She seemed to be assuring herself, and I grimaced, realizing Ino was not even remotely partial to crime. This was probably her first time doing anything illegal… I felt like an oddity all of a sudden and wondered how and when had theft and other minor offenses become a normality for me…

"What's the sickness?" I asked just because I was curious.

"Nausea and diarrhea. Minor stomach flu. It'll be enough to keep him in bed for a few days. Besides, he deserves it right? He was _totally _going to play Sakura… I don't care if she's strong enough to play his stupid game… he should know better than to mess with my best friend…" She hissed at the vial, more to herself than me, again reassuring herself that what she was doing was simply justice and not, well, _evil_.

That honestly made me wonder if I was a bad influence… I probably was. I convinced her to steal from the hospital she used to help out at… that was pretty bad if you ask me.

Regardless, we snuck out of there, Ino whispering that she'd go out to dinner with her cousin that night and slip the virus into his food. Yuck. I suddenly felt bad for him. But then I remembered how much of a two-faced card-player he was and smirked. Good. Diarrhea and vomiting can keep him busy for a few days while I hopefully succeed in getting Sakura to be disinterested in him. Actually, it was a good thing Ino had conned me into taking Sakura out for a night. It was a good thing she told me I didn't have to openly state it was a date either, because this way, I can just… I don't know, give her an opportunity to be interested in someone else (?); Someone better who won't just screw her and leave her because they have a thing for accomplished women (?). I don't know I haven't thought that far ahead yet, but I had a good feeling that this would work out. Ino and I had taken to the roof tops and we had just arrived at her clan's compound. And what do you know… Yamanaka was _just _coming home, smirking at the tickets in his hand like a sorry asshole that didn't know what was about to hit him. It was actually dinner time, so Ino's plan would work… hopefully. I handed her a paper seal.

"Pour your chakra into this. The circle on the paper will turn green, then red." I explained as she took the paper from me. "If you were successful, just turn it green. If you failed, turn it red and we'll come up with something else." She nodded.

"Good plan." Then she smirked. "Maybe you should go to the club with her instead… Sai and I will still go, you know. Besides, Sakura's still going to go because Suchiru will most likely tell her to go. You know that right?" She looked at me skeptically, guessing that I hadn't thought I that.

I glared at her. That was something I _definitely _didn't think through… Would Yamanaka really still give her the tickets and tell her to have fun? Actually… he probably would. What did he care if she fell for another guy or slept with another guy that night? All he was out for was what was between her legs. And knowing Sakura, she would probably think he was being "sensitive to her freedom" or some B.S. like that and she would actually _like _that about him. Disgusting. Yeah. I would have to go, or I would have to make Kakashi or Naruto go. Or Ino would have to convince someone else to go in Yamanaka's stead.

"I don't go to things unless I'm invited." I stated. And Ino stared blankly back at me. I sighed. She didn't get it. "Sakura will know something's up if I invite myself. She's not stupid." I clarified and then she got it. Her mouth shaped into an "o" as the epiphany struck her. Then, she put a hand on her chin.

"Okay… We can work around that… maybe I can convince her somehow." She plotted, holding the paper I gave her to her chin. I had the paper's twin in my pocket and wrapped my fingers around it tightly.

"Don't be obvious about it." I warned.

She giggled and winked at me in a sly, fox-like manner.

"Sasuke-kun…" She practically cooed. "You don't have to worry about me messing _that _part up, honestly." And she shunshinned away, so I did too. Once I was back in my neighborhood and at my apartment, I heard loud voices behind Sakura's door.

"NO! BAKA! HOW COULD YOU KILL ME! GAH!" It was Sakura. She sounded pissed.

"HAHAHAHAHAH! YOU LOSE AGAIN SAKURA-CHAN! Oh hey! Teme's back!" Naruto. That was definitely Naruto.

And I didn't even have time to make an escape before Naruto pushed open Sakura's door and grabbed me by my anbu vest, dragging me in when I wasn't even invited, not like I could run from him after he noticed me, anyway. I dug my heels into the ground at the entrance, because there was no way in hell I was walking into someone else's house with my shoes on. That kind of disrespect was reserved for missions and assholes.

"Oh yeah, you still have your shoes on. I think Sakura-chan has an extra controller! Maybe we can have a three-way battle!" He started raving about, kami-sama help me, I don't really know what.

"No, _Naruto_! Sasuke probably wants to change before we go, now come back, the CPU is boring to fight against!" She snapped.

I felt odd being in such a familial and warm scenario. Sakura was sitting in front of her TV on her plum couch, mashing away at a device I had never seen before. On the screen some scantily-dressed, blonde female character holding an umbrella jumped around and fought against an impossibly muscular character in a karate uniform. And Naruto was holding a device matching hers, frowning at her back as he kept his one hand on my vest.

… … …What was going on here?

"Oh right, would you rather shower before we all go have ramen, teme?" Naruto asked and I realized he was wearing his father's "yondaime" coat that flowed to the floor. His usual black and orange attire was underneath it and he was wearing an ear-to-ear grin that nearly _blinded _me. I must have looked confused… we were having ramen tonight? Who planned this? What if I'd rather eat to-go food or something? Seriously, these two never asked questions, they just did as they pleased. Somehow, that fact managed to both annoy and win me over at the same time. I shook my head. I wouldn't have it any other way.

"Let me shower." I replied to him and he let go of my vest and nodded.

"SHANNARO! SHINEH!" Sakura interrupted our conversation and we both turned to look at her.

_Seeeeei-ha! _The female character screamed on-screen and I shook my head as Naruto laughed sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

"It's actually fun for a kid's game, teme. You should play with us when we get back…" He offered.

"Right…" I turned around and went into my apartment to get cleaned up. I still smelled like I had just competed in an anbu exam.

-X-

LOL I think I like this Sasuke/Ino teamwork. They're both evil when they set their minds to it. Review and let me know what you guys think.

Disclaimer: Naruto ™ is not owned by me. This work is fan-made and is just for shits and giggles. I don't make any money writing this.

See 'ya later, Space Cowboy!


	6. Stupid Sake

KISEKI |6| **PLEASE READ THE PARAGRAPH BELOW! **

Hey guys! Just wanted to thank you all for your reviews! A few _especially_ caught my attention, one specifically about the POV-switches. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT INPUT! Yes, the POV-switches are choppy. I realized that only after I received that review! I'm going to do my best on working on that. I'll try to alternate chapters; one Sakura chapter, another Sasuke chapter. The only thing I can see being compromised by that kind of restriction is the length of chapters, only because I'm so plot-focused and excited to get to the _good_ parts that it drives me nuts to write idle chapters. That might seem whiny to you guys, but believe it or not, I end up procrastinating when I write what I feel like is filler, so I might not be so quick with updates and that _kills _me!

Anyway, I might try to split one chapter into _a lot _of Sakura and then afterwards _a lot _of Sasuke. I don't know how I'm going to do juicier POV's, but I at least know I'm going to center the story mostly around the main pairing. From now on, unless the **plot** specifically requires the POV of another character for a brief segment, there will only be Sakura and Sasuke. Again, sorry about the choppiness! Also, let me know if I'm writing Sasuke correctly. That's my biggest fear: not writing "man" enough. I've done a lot of research insert Jiraiya's pervy face here on how men interact with each other, and how their brains and thought processes work. I really hope I have enough information to write Sasuke correctly. If his POV _sounds _a lot different from Sakura's in a good way, PLEASE let me know in a review. If it doesn't and they sound the same, let me know as well. This story is a big "comfort and expansion" experiment as well as something I've had in my head for a while and I have _big_ plans for it. I don't want to screw up the experience for you guys by not writing to the best of my capabilities! Again, thank you _all _so much for your input and help and constructive criticism! *hearts* I love you all :3 I really do.

P.S. I just went back and rewatched the Naruto Shippuden: Bonds movie. OHMYGOSH! The artwork was great. And it also helped me get a better perspective of all the characters. I'm going to make it a point to rewatch important episodes and things to _really_ grasp the characters correctly!

-X-

When I walked out of my shower, I felt slightly nervous. I hadn't been in the same room with Naruto and Sakura in… _years_… I think the last time I saw them was at my official reinstatement as a Konoha shinobi... three years ago. If I remember correctly, Naruto and I ended up drinking that entire night while Sakura had left for a long mission right after the paperwork and small celebration was completed in Tsunade's office. At the time I refused to speak to anyone, especially Sai and I was angry with Kakashi for offering his support. I was akin to a rabid dog… Things changed so much… I wonder if Nii-san would be happy…

I found myself hoping that I wouldn't feel awkward as I zipped up my regular, black, high-collared Uchiha tunic. Afterwards, I tucked my standard nin pants into my tall boots, dried my brother's necklace around my neck and my hair the rest of the way with my towel and threw the fluffy blue cloth into the overflowing hamper. Fuck. I would have to do laundry soon. The Laundromat lady across the street hated me and I didn't feel like literally dragging my dirty laundry across all of Konoha to go to the Laundromat at the other side of town. I sighed and ran a hand through my still-damp hair, wiping the excess moisture on the side of my thigh. My hair was my mother's, I noted absently. It was thick, dark and straight.

Anyway, I'll just have to stay at the laundromat that entire hour that I _do _do my laundry and just make sure the woman doesn't pour bleach all over my clothes… again. I rolled my eyes at the memory of the first time she did it as I walked through my apartment and shoved my keys and the little slip of blank paper from before into my pockets. I shut the door behind me, took a breath and raised my hand to knock on the door. Sakura opened it before my knuckles made contact with the discolored wood. I looked at her. She was wearing her usual haruno tunic and form-fitting nin pants. I could see a bit of her cleavage thanks to the _stupid _v-neck of her shirt. I forced my eyes _not _to focus on what my peripheral vision was _trying _to make me stare at, but they ended up staring into her eyes and at her lips, which were just as enticing, anyway.

"You don't have to knock." She smiled. "Just walk in, Sasuke. Naruto does it all the time." She shrugged a delicate shoulder and I found that all I could respond with was a silent nod as she turned around. I kicked off my shoes and followed her again, like a lost dog, because I didn't want to just stand there in the doorway. I _had_ to get a grip. This was _Sakura_ for fuck's sake. I had rejected her, broken her heart, and discarded her. There was _no _way in hell she still wanted me. She was supposed to be a _friend_ nothing more, so _why_ was my mind _begging_ for me to fucking analyze her in a sexual way? Kami-sama knew I already realized that she has a nice ass. Didn't I deserve somewhat of a break for fixing our friendship, for fighting for her even if she didn't realize what I was doing behind the scenes? Sometimes I wondered if sex was as much of a burden on a man as emotions were a burden on a woman.

We sat on the couch and Sakura picked up her device. I heard Naruto call it a "controller" which made sense because you were technically "controlling" your character on the screen, like a puppeteer used chakra threads to control his puppet. It was interesting and I briefly wondered if the inventor studied puppeteering in order to achieve this sort of technology. I was too aware of how close we were all sitting on Sakura's ridiculously comfortable, plum couch. All of our shoulders were touching and I could feel the muscles in Sakura's arms tense as she mashed buttons and mumbled curses under her breath.

"Damn it, Niseria, you're too fucking slow, why do you _suck!?_"

Naruto chuckled because he had heard her.

"She's not slow, you just suck at this game."

"It's _my_ game that _I _bought! How are you better at it than _me_ if you don't even fucking play it as much as I do!?"

I heard the controller crack as Sakura tightened her angry grip on it. I wasn't really entertained though, if I was honest, I would say that I was staring _through _her controller.

Me being physically attracted to Sakura was a big problem… I thought about the first time I had even had sex. It was almost like an _itch_ that needed to be scratched, kind of like how I was starting to change in regards to Sakura. It was like there was some demon in my mind, constantly whispering about how nice it would be to stick it into something warm and slick. That was when I was fifteen. I had just _snapped_. It was after a rough training session with Orochimaru. There was so much adrenaline and testosterone in my body. SO many _fucking _hormones… Jacking off did me no good. So I did what Kabuto did when he was feeling weird. I went for a walk to the nearest town, intending on drinking and maybe finding someone to bed for the night. By then the two snakes had learned not to tail me so I left saying I'd be back in the morning. I found myself in front of a brothel after about an hour, not because I'd actually _pay _for sex. Give me some credit, here. I just, I don't know, I looked up.

Now here, I started to feel bad. I wasn't _completely _gone back then; I still had a heart and a sense of honor. There were women on display behind these wooden bars in front of the brothel. They wore brilliantly colored and flashy kimonos. I wasn't attracted to that. What I was attracted to was the nervous girl about my age who looked like she had been kidnapped. Her kimono was white with silver cranes. She looked afraid and the old, ugly guy with a beer belly next to me was leering at her. I could practically _see_ the drool starting to form at the corner of his disgusting lips. I did what any pissed-off kid on a power trip would do. I punched him right in the balls, because really, what could he do to fight back? After he recovered from the crippling hit, he was _livid_. I had seen wasps that looked friendlier than him after he got to his feet, one hand still on his sore crotch. He had moved to try to hit me back, but I had hit him with genjutsu before he even raised his fist. Just a tiny pulse of chakra to my eyes and he was on the floor, unconscious in seconds. The girl, the one I _knew_ was as much of a virgin as me, looked surprised. I still remember her soft, well-shaped face. She had large, pale-blue eyes and silky, light-blue hair. I had never seen someone like her. I walked in and genjutsued my way into the display case. I picked her out and took her to the room the brothel servants gave us.

I hadn't planned on having sex with her, initially. Honestly. I was actually in the process of planning on getting her out of there, as I surveyed the area surrounding the balcony. The front door was a big "no" because as soon as I entered to retrieve her about twenty trained rogue nin had showed up to guard the front doors after the commotion and the usage of my chakra. Thankfully, they hadn't investigated further into it. They just moved the guy I knocked out into the bushes. I counted how many guards there were to prevent an escape. There were a lot. There was one positioned every five feet and they had formed a square around the brothel. It would be hard to take them all on while I protected the nameless girl I had brought here. Were my eyes strong enough to put them all under genjutsu? At that point, not yet. Now? It would have been easy work, but not back then… not fifty or more men. _Maybe_ it would have been feasible if they were civilians, but they had carried weapons and kunai. They were all rogue nin with a decent amount of chakra to their advantage. They weren't exceptional, skills-wise but the chances of them being able to cancel out genjutsu and chase us through the night were statistically high.

I remembered how just after that thought, I had felt her small hands on my shoulders. My whole body went rigid. _No one _touched me like that. It was too… _personal_. But she was gentle. Was she afraid of me, I wondered? I wasn't prepared for what I saw when I turned around. She was completely naked, standing in a way where her hair flowed just long enough to cover her assets up top, her legs pressed slightly together. I think I swallowed. I don't remember. She was about my age so she was curvy, but not _really _curvy. She was thin and had no muscle on her. She was a civilian. What the _hell _was she doing there? Naked with me? That wasn't the place for her. I had turned red. That was the first time my face felt hot and the blood pounded in my ears in an entirely new way.

"You didn't have to do that." She whispered softly amongst the distant sounds of pain and sex that could be heard throughout the building. Dumbly, I had shrugged in response, because I didn't trust my voice yet. What else was I supposed to do? I didn't know _what_ to do. When a naked girl is standing there, holding onto you with her hands, and you don't know what you're doing…what the _fuck_ is next on the itinerary? There was no sensei that taught me about sex and how to have it. My whole life I had been training to kill someone as viciously and violently as possible. At that time, that… that was a different experience…

I realized my eyes kept flicking down to her generous breasts and the soft, light-blue hairs protectively covering her yet unseen female bits. I turned away, heart thudding so loudly I swear even she probably heard it. You didn't need ninja training to realize I had been new to seeing someone like _that_. However, I didn't feel alone. She was blushing too and I could see her pulse beating like a drum at her neck. At some point she had slipped her hands off of my shoulders. I didn't even notice when. She was digging her nails into her palm and I _swear_ she was slightly shaking, but I could _smell_ what I normally wasn't supposed to smell from her and maybe… maybe _she_ was ready to go too. But at that point, I wasn't listening to those thoughts. I had always had a firm grip on thoughts like that, thanks to having to resist the whisperings of the curse seal for years now.

"You should put your clothes back on." I used my "asshole" tone because I didn't know how to deal with her or myself that moment. I wasn't Sasuke at that point. I was just… emotionless. I wanted to shut down before I did something regretful. You would too, if you were morally conflicted. I was fifteen. I was supposed to be focusing on killing my brother. The babies could and probably would come later. But I remember contemplating… if she wanted me and I wanted her, what was wrong with _that_? Just do it.

"You're a ninja…" She whispered lightly and I could feel her eyes roaming over me.

I didn't respond. What do you say to that? You tell me. I was having trouble. Should I look at her, or continue looking at the wall? If I look at her, I'll probably touch her. If I look at the wall, I _might _just shunshin away... _might_…

"I'd rather be taken by someone kind and strong who had thought of my well-being than someone with no honor or no looks for that matter... There's no way to get me out of here, you know…" She reasoned. We were there, together. And we both knew the other wasn't a bad person. Why _not_ have sex? Logic agreed with what she was saying. But my morals advised me to just walk away. _Just walk away, Sasuke. _But what was I going to do? Take up her time that night and worry about her the next night? Worry about some ugly old man shoving his penis into her, raping her and breaking her when she didn't _want _any of that and she wanted this _now_? I wouldn't hurt her. She knew that. I knew that.

"There might be…" Because, I could probably finagle a way to free her if she would just _fucking _put her clothes back on and let me _think_.

"You came by this place for a reason…" She persuaded.

"No, I was on a walk."

"You looked at me for some reason…" She continued.

"…" I don't fucking know. I really didn't.

"Just relax… it was meant to be… please? And she touched my face with a warm hand. That "please" was what killed me. It was what convinced me. Who was the last person I said "no" to when they said "please"? Sakura… Sakura had begged me to stay… And I said no… I would say yes this time… and only because it would spare her the extra pain later… only because maybe the next time; she'd remember my face instead of some other asshole's…

I didn't remember much else after that except the pleasure. Clothes flew off. She pulled me to the bed. I touched her probably _everywhere_ because she was the softest, warmest thing I'd touched since… I don't remember. I briefly remember breaking her and how she held on until she was okay to move, how I'd kissed her to apologize. She even took a short nap to heal from the first time we did it. We had sex a couple of times that night…

In the end, when my head was cleared, I didn't want to give up. The least I could do was take her away from there, at least that's what I was thinking at the time. In case you're wondering, no I didn't love her, because I didn't know her enough to love her, but I loved how intimate sex was with her. She was enjoying herself as much as I was and that's what sex should be like. She had taught me _everything_ about I needed to know that night; how to make sure I didn't get anyone pregnant, and how to make someone feel good. Some older whore had told her because she had no idea before she wound up there, either. Because of her, I learned what I wanted from a woman as well, as far as the sheets were concerned, of course. I learned that I was still human and I was still capable of being gentle. I remembered that I wasn't completely a beast; despite the numerous amount of times the seal made me transform into one. I could still be decent to people who deserved it. She refused to go with me and argued that my plan was reckless. Looking back, it was _completely _reckless. She had told me that she was paying off a medical debt from some doctor that had treated her younger sister…

That had pissed me off. She didn't deserve a future of sleeping with assholes like that guy I had punched outside because she was paying off a fucking doctor for two years. Who the _fuck_ put a price on life and health?

We had argued even more after she said that. I asked her why she didn't just run, instead. Her father was healed. How could her father let her get taken _away_? She had turned out to be less intelligent than I initially thought. She was beautiful, but so stupid and vapid, it almost made me regret _everything_. I kissed her, angrily, yes, but I did and I left, never looking back. She _wouldn't_ turn her back on her family… and all I could think of was how far people would go for their family… and just how in the hell had my brother been able to kill everyone and just go?

Guiltily, I remembered how I thought that Itachi was a different breed of monster that night. I was so stupid… and so wrong…

"Sasuke?"

What? Sakura's voice was _hauntingly _gentle... I looked up.

"Mn?" I snapped back to reality and pulled my mind completely away from that memory. Sakura was holding the controller out to me. I looked at it and then back at her.

"You look pale, maybe we should just go and eat…" with one last concerned once-over, she turned her head to Naruto, who was giving me an analytical look. I stared blankly back at him, because I didn't want him to read me like a book. The dobe could and he _would_ if he had to.

"Yeah, we'll take the long way to Ichiraku's. That will give Sai enough time to get there and Kakashi-sensei's always late anyway so whatever. It'll work out, somehow." He wisely didn't press the issue of my thoughts.

That's right, Naruto. Everything always worked out somehow. For better or for worse. I nodded in agreement and stood up, more than ready to walk and get something else onto my mind, like that fucking Yamanaka getting what he deserved tonight. Sakura shut her TV off and I took the lead in leaving her apartment, like I always walked ahead when we were younger… Hn, old habits die hard, I guess. Naruto flicked off the lights after we all put our shoes on and we left for Ichiraku's.

While walking through town, a few civilians smiled at us here and there. I felt weird and out of place, like I didn't deserve to be there with both Naruto and Sakura after what I'd done to them. Naturally, they both reassured me things were okay in their own ways. Sakura babbled about how "cute" Shikamaru and Temari have been acting, naturally, and Naruto cackled, the comment reminding him of something. He shot me a mischievous glare and I decided that I hated his new-found strategic thinking. Whatever was going to come out of his mouth next was going to piss me off…

"So, I heard you have a date tomorrow, Sakura-chan…"

And I shot a glare at Naruto over Sakura's head. The _last _thing I wanted to do was talk about Sakura's _stupid _date that I planned on crashing and ruining. Furthermore, just how in the _hell_ did he know it bugged me? I watched with my peripheral vision as Sakura rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"Ino hasn't been able to shut up?" She drawled.

"Can you blame her? All Sai and her do is hang out at his apartment." Naruto shrugged, as if that _didn't _put weird images in either my or Sakura's head. Naruto was really ignorant and at times like these I wondered if he was being like that to _purposefully _skeeve me out. Because personally, I did _not _want to look at Ino the next time I saw her and have the knowledge that she fucks her boyfriend _a lot _on her spare time creep up on me.

Sakura smacked Naruto across the shoulder, to which Naruto gave her a dejected look for in response.

"What was that for?" He grumped, crossing his arms.

"Ugh, nevermind." Sakura replied with an annoyed expression of defeat on her face.

And then I suddenly got it… Naruto hadn't… Naruto hadn't had sex with anyone yet. I mean, yeah we talked about who we _would _fuck sometimes but he always avoided the topic of who we _did_ fuck… I mean I don't blame him, he's my brother an all but I didn't want to know his dirt and he didn't want to know mine. Anyway, as odd as that was with his "hero" status, it made sense; the Hyuuga were traditional and he _was _dating Hinata in pseudo-secret so everything clicked. Great. Now I had in-depth knowledge of not only one, or two, or even _three_, but **four** people's personal bedroom lives—or lack thereof—that I didn't want in the first place… great. Actually, make that five, because now I was _sure_ Sakura wasn't a virgin either. When the _fuck_ had she gotten busy and with _who, _more importantly?

Bad thoughts, Sasuke. Bad thoughts.

"Oh look, Sai's already there!" Naruto interrupted as he pointed down the busy street.

I never thought I would hear myself thinking this, but really, thank kami-sama for Sai. Naruto ran ahead leaving me and Sakura to trail over at a regular pace.

"Sorry, Naruto's—

"A virgin." I finished for Sakura. I shrugged, not realizing how bluntly I spoke. To each his own.

"Um, I was going to say 'dense' but yeah, what you said works too." She replied, half-laughing and I felt my face heat up.

Fuck. What compelled me to interrupt her with my_ stupid _big mouth? Now I looked about as perverted as Kakashi. I composed myself as we walked up to the stand and ducked under the short, navy curtains. The warm lights felt nice on my skin. Not wanting to start off on a bad foot, I nodded at Sai and offered a quiet "yo". He stuck out his hand, a small smile on his face. I shook it firmly. He firmly shook back. That was a good handshake. Sai wasn't a bad guy. You can tell what kind of a man a man is in two ways: By his handshake and by the way he fights. Believe it or not, a lot of communication is passed between people when they spar or when they shake hands. I could tell I was on thin ice with Sai and Sai could tell I didn't give a shit. Somewhere in that subtle communication, we found an agreement and stuck to it for Naruto and Sakura's sake. We all sat down at the growing business' stand. There were twelve seats at the bar and the kitchen had grown bigger since I was last here with Naruto a few months ago. Sai took the first seat, closest to the wall, Naruto sat next to him, followed by myself, then Sakura.

"Ah welcome! Well isn't today a special day! Where is Hatake-san?" Teuchi greeted us as he turned away from his pot of broth. The man was as hardy and happy as ever.

"Yo!" A distinct flare of chakra alerted us to Kakashi, who was surprisingly early and cheerful…weird. "Well if it isn't _all_ of my cute, little students! Today _is_ a special day, Teuchi-san."Kakashi spoke as Ayame, who was more pregnant than the last time I saw her, walked through the kitchen, pulling out a bottle of sake for each of us. She placed a small sake cup in front of all of us and smiled.

"Dinner's on the house today!" She grinned, specifically at me, and I might have given a tiny smile in response. No doubt they were rewarding Naruto for _finally _herding all of us over here like he probably promised a million people he'd do. I smiled to myself at that. Naruto was a little more calculating, but he was still Naruto.

"Ah! Ayame-san! Four months already!?" Sakura, ever the medic, was probably accurate since Ayame blushed and nodded.

"Sharp as ever, Sakura-san." Ayame commented back cheerfully as she touched her stomach. People always touched the things you pointed out to them. Shinobi were taught not to do that. It was a difficult habit to break.

Sakura looked like she wanted to ask another question, but I saw the gentle shake of her head as she stopped herself.

"Boy or girl?" She asked instead. I wondered what the next question was going to be: "who" maybe?

"A surprise." Ayame beamed in response.

"Make sure to stop by the hospital regularly!" Sakura commented as she poured herself some sake. Ayame nodded and moved to help her father, as Naruto called out his order of a large miso with extra naruto. Sai wanted a spicy miso with extra menma and Sakura ordered a spicy miso but with extra naruto as well. Kakashi wanted a regular miso with extra beef so I ordered just a regular miso. I didn't need extra of anything. I would try to start a drinking contest between myself and Sakura, but the last thing a pregnant woman and her father needed tonight was a belligerent kunoichi and her asshole not-ex-anymore-teammate having a drunken discussion that might lead to a fight. So I was limiting this visit to this single bottle of sake.

"I have something to talk to you guys about." Sai spoke up. We all looked at each other, and then at him.

"It needs to stay secret." He stressed as he sipped on his sake cup, and Sakura nodded.

"Spit it out." Naruto urged, because he hated waiting for something that clearly _felt _like big news.

"I want to propose to Ino." He revealed and the sake got caught in Sakura's throat. I patted her back awkwardly as she coughed it out and took deep breaths.

"W-w-wait a second!" She coughed again. "Jashin-_damn it,_ Sai you're trying to kill me…" She coughed once more and I simultaneously clapped her back extra hard for good measure. She shot me a glare before she turned her head back towards Sai.

"I think it's a great idea." Naruto offered, always the optimist, but there was an edge to his tone, he was waiting for everyone else's input before he revealed his _actual _input... a tactic that Tsunade taught him, no doubt. It was refreshing to know they were delving in to the nuances of politics. Naruto was piss poor in politics and trickery.

"Says the hypocrite who won't claim what's his…" I mumbled calculatingly as a direct jab to his feigned optimism and Naruto shot me a dangerous look, and Sakura shot glances at the both of us, coming to her own conclusions. My words were vague enough that only Naruto and anyone _heavily _involved in his personal business would understand. Kakashi and Sai remained quiet, watching us all like the anbu they were.

"Now, are you _sure_ you want to marry her?" Sakura asked in a no-nonsense tone of voice, and I wondered just when the _hell_ had she gotten so _political?_ I thought she'd want to defend Ino and instead force him to go buy a ring right now. "Because, you shouldn't marry her just because _she_ wants you to. You should marry her because _you_ want to spend the rest of your life with her." No, she had just matured; grown up. I forgot again. I think it's the color of her hair that makes me remember _too _well how she used to be.

We all let her words sink in, each man making his own thoughts on what she said, being Ino's closest friend and all. It was good advice, but she wasn't done. "Life, Sai. For. Life. Not for three days, not for three months, not for three years, but possibly for three decades or even more than that, kami-sama willing. You guys have only been dating for what, two years?" That really put things into perspective. If we were judging the "proper time to marry" by how long you've known or been with a person for, I'd probably _never_ get comfortable enough to marry.

"You think I should wait and see." Sai commented back, his face blank. It was a fact. Naruto stared at him hard. Sakura did too. She nodded, because he technically called her out on her bullshit.

"I would wait too." Kakashi spoke, and Naruto snorted. "Of course you would kaka-sensei, you've been waiting for how long, already? You don't even have a girlfriend." Naruto blurted disrespectfully, but no one took it that way, not even Kakashi himself. That was just Naruto. And again, I noticed the opportunity he gave Kakashi to come clean about having a girlfriend.

I smirked at that, and I caught the slight twinkle in Sakura's eyes. Naruto was cunning in his own way, I'll give him that. It was a well-placed verbal trap. A few beat passed, but Kakashi just shrugged. He didn't take Naruto's bait and now I was sure Kakashi knew that we knew… _all _of us. He seemed to be eyeing me, as if he was internally surprised that I somehow knew. Hah. He didn't expect me to know. Teamwork, Kakashi. Teamwork. You had taught us that yourself. I gave him a half-smirk in response.

"I think Kakashi-sensei can wait as long as he wants. Life is short." Sakura filled the minimal silence with a factual statement and shrugged and I realized what she meant by that. She would rather not be tied down and experience what she could whenever she could. Shinobi tended to drop like flies. Kakashi wasn't one of those kinds of shinobi, but it was a fact anyway. We all had an expiration date. The next mission could be the end of it.

"But life is short, so if Sai wants a wife, he should go get one." Naruto interjected, using Sakura's words against her; again, another political trick. His _real _opinion was overly-optimistic anyway. I had no room to open my mouth because I didn't know Sai or Ino enough to say anything on the matter. So I sat there, quietly and listened for someone else to either comment or change the subject.

"What do you think, traitor?"

I nearly spat my sake out. What the _fuck_ did he just call me!? I tensed to spring up and get in his face, but I felt a hand on my thigh, and _fucking hell_ it hurt when the fingers squeezed just above my knee! My back went rigid and my eyes slid to look at Sakura. It was her hand that was on the verge of snapping my fucking femur, and she was giving me a look. _Shut. Up._ That was the look. Actually, no, _move and I'll fucking break your leg_ was the look. She didn't want to have to disassemble any fights tonight. So I indulged her, I don't know why. I guess it's because I had ruined enough shit for her in the past, so I decided to trust her judgment instead of my feelings, held my anger and just glared at Sai instead.

"Do you love her?" I answered him seriously and Sakura's hand slid off of my thigh when she was sure I had my head back in the right place. It was funny how things could be so similar to when we were younger, but so different. She knew what my mind worked like, but she acted completely differently towards me this time around. Had it been eight years ago she probably would have let me fuck Sai up without doing much but shouting "Sasuke-kun". I couldn't help but feel awkward now as I waited for Sai to respond, slightly, because I knew Kakashi had seen what she did.

"Yes." Was the easy reply.

"Then do what you feel is best, dickhead. If you _feel_ it's right, do it. If you're nervous and aren't sure, don't. My guess is that you consulted us first because you're _not_ sure if now is the time. So wait, if it's not." And I went back to drinking my sake as Sai nodded. I kept glaring at Sakura from the side, the whole time Naruto and Sai were arguing about whose penis was bigger. Defiantly, Sakura knocked back her glass in a masculine way and I narrowed my eyes. I wouldn't start with her tonight. I would just have to let the "traitor" nickname slide, besides I had nicknamed Sai too. But what he labeled me wasn't a lie, either when you thought about it. I was a traitor at some point in my life and if anything, it was just a fact. I betrayed Konoha. I was a traitor. Back then. Not anymore. If I'm not a traitor anymore, then the nickname shouldn't bother me. I stopped seeing red after looking at the situation logically. _Yes, _I would have fucked up this whole outing if I decided to chidori Sai's face in at that exact moment. Sakura was right in stopping me. I looked over at Kakashi who shook his head and I sighed.

"I HAVE A DICK! STOP CALLING ME DICKLESS!" Naruto suddenly screamed and I heard laughter outside of the restaurant.

Oh. So Sai had a rude nickname for almost _all_ of his friends. That was just his thing. Okay. Sakura: 1. Sasuke: 0. Round: over.

"And Sakura is not ugly, but I still call her ugly. It was the first nickname I came up for her. It's sentimental." Sai defended and Sakura grabbed her head as I snickered. I could see how she would have gotten pissed at that the first time it was said to her.

"I still doubt you even know what 'sentimental' means!" Naruto shot back, fuming. "Why 'dickless' of all things!?"

"I don't remember." Came the easy, but honest response.

"Well, fuck you." And the future rokudaime of Konoha just gave Sai the finger.

"If you were dickless you would want to."

I chuckled. I had to admit, that was a really good comeback. Naruto was fuming; I could practically see the steam escaping through his ears. I reached around Sakura and Squeezed his shoulder. He grabbed his hair and focused pettily on his sake. The support seemed to calm him down.

"Whatever." He mumbled and I let my hand slide off. "Hinata-chan loves me no matter what you douchebags say."

And just like that Naruto was smiling again. Our bowls of ramen were served just then and we all shouted the traditional blessing before we dug in. Not going to lie, I was _hungry_ after the mission, the stress over losing Yugao, the visit to Ino and the hospital heist. The ramen, though not my favorite meal, was delicious. I ate voraciously in response to the flavors hitting my tongue. And Sakura kept drinking, ignoring her food, as she stared off at some invisible point on the wall of the kitchen, too obviously lost in a memory. What was her deal? I looked as she was about to rudely drink straight out of the sake bottle, and I placed my hand flat over it. She was surprised, because the pressure of me pressing down on the bottle must have registered in her brain just then. She let me guide the bottle back down as she glared at me with a mix of annoyance and confusion.

"What?" She stressed, not understanding my reasoning for doing so. I cocked a confident brow in response.

"Revenge." I stated simply with a shrug. A moment later, and she knew what I was avenging: her fucking death grip had _hurt_. So I was going to hurt her back because I had a feeling she was dependent on alcohol. She just shrugged and started eating, giving up on the sake for now. I smirked. Sasuke: 1. Sakura:0. Round: Over.

"When do you want to spar?" I asked Sakura as Naruto and Sai talked about Hinata. I decided to strike the conversation because I didn't care much for Naruto's trouble in Narutoland after he blatantly just ignored my every word of advice, not that I was qualified to give advice, concerning my troubled past, but still. A brother was a brother. A brother gave you your reality check when you needed it, and Naruto had ignored mine. Besides, Sakura and I still had to set up a time and a place to spar. I could tell she was itching to kick my ass for leaving her on a bench eight years ago, and I wanted to see how much of a badass Miss Anbu really was or wasn't compared to me.

"Um, two days." She replied, then slurped ramen noodles and crunched on some menma.

"Two days." I repeated, but I had a feeling that with Yamanaka's "illness" she was going to be seeing me earlier. Well… maybe. I honestly hoped she'd decide to come see me instead. It was pathetic and again, I wondered _why_ in the hell I had a thought like that, but I was enjoying my team's company. I had secretly, but genuinely _missed _being with them, so I wasn't going to ruin it with my own stupid thoughts about Sakura.

"Ugh I have to go shopping with Ino tomorrow." She groaned, as if she just remembered.

"Oh? You have a date?" Kakashi asked, and his one eye briefly slid to stare at me. Kakashi could be a dickhead too if he wanted to be. He knew I was going to hate this topic.

"Yeah it's a double date. Ino and Sai are coming." Sakura informed, but she didn't seem to really care so much. It was stated as a fact, so maybe her feelings weren't really invested in it?

"Eh? You're going too, Sai?" Naruto responded through a mouthful of noodles. Sakura pinched his skin with her nails through his jacket. His back straightened considerably and he swallowed before he continued speaking the next time. His manners would horrify the Hyuuga. I was starting to see why he wanted to wait to ask Hiashi for his eldest daughter's hand in marriage. Time won't help you though, Naruto, unless you enroll yourself in some sort of etiquette class for grown men, which I highly doubt exists… "Where are you guys going?" Naruto asked, without waiting for Sai to reply to his previous question.

"I believe a popular club in the Festival town just outside of Konoha." Sai responded professionally, as if it were a personal mission of his. He must not be the type for social gatherings. Didn't Naruto say root destroyed his emotions and he had just unblocked them during the war? He must still be learning how to just _be_. It's no wonder the social difficulty of going to something as wild as a club would put him in mission-mode. That was what every shinobi defaulted to when they found they couldn't or didn't know how to handle something: just treat it like a mission.

"Oh, who're you going with, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, but he already knew. He just wanted to hear Sakura say it and estimate her emotional reaction. Naruto's best weapon was his ability to read and connect with emotions. You couldn't hide from him. If he ever had children with Hinata, who had the byakugan that was rumored to be able to estimate emotion behind a stone mask on a person's face, the kids would be incredibly perceptive, I'd give him that.

"Ino's cousin." Sakura responded lightly. _No big deal, Naruto_. Was what she was trying to say.

"The one teme just went on a mission with?" Naruto had a big fucking mouth, I'll give him that. I could see the gears turning in Sai's head. He looked at me. Did Ino tell him what we did? He nodded at me. Yep. He knew. But mercifully, he wasn't going to say anything. I felt Kakashi's stare again, probably in reaction to my brief exchange with Sai, and I figured I'd have to tell him my strategy later. Somehow, the idea of telling him what I planned out made me nervous, but Kakashi wasn't the type to judge so I relaxed a little.

"Yeah, Suchiru-san." Sakura was getting annoyed because she could tell we were all communicating silently and _she _probably felt judged, or on edge because we were all protective of her to some degree.

"Oh, I thought he liked Yugao-san, no?" Stupid Naruto. Stupid.

All heads turned to me because I was recently on a mission with both of the people in question. This was my chance to discredit the bastard and never even give him a chance to recover, but I shrugged instead, because I couldn't talk about what happened on an s-class mission. Not even the details of Yamanaka's disgusting personality while on said mission could be mentioned. The attention was off of me as Sakura spoke.

"I don't know who he likes, but yes, Naruto he's my date tomorrow." She smiled and reaffirmed and I hated her for being excited to go out with that prick. I don't know why I was so agitated, probably because somewhere I had hoped she had standards higher than that asshole. Somewhere I really hoped she'd use him before he'd use her. I didn't and wouldn't ever know what was in her head and that seemed to also add to my aggravation. Did she know how he was and was just playing along for sex and free drinks like Kakashi said, or did she not know and really hoped he'd treat her right? Who knows?

I certainly don't fucking know.

But thinking about it logically, whether I ever found out or not wouldn't matter because their stupid date would _never _happen. As if to reinforce that thought my pocket tingled with Ino's energy and I smirked. Good. Either she had done it and succeeded, or failed miserably. If she failed, I'm pretty sure nothing would stop me from slipping into his room with a needle full of some other horrendous illness that very night. Sakura seemed blissful at the thought of him on way or another and I regretfully admit that I hated it. It made me angry and true to my lineage, my anger tended to make me insane.

I don't know how Itachi was somehow born different. When we were young, I _always_ knew when Itachi was mad. But he somehow _always _kept it together. Outou-san never failed to piss him off, but he never did anything. How? I don't get it. For me, when I got angry, it was like an itch that needed to be scratched. Just like sex. I needed to actually physically _do_ something about it. Movement and progression helped me. _Doing _helped me. I got nothing from just standing there and existing while I was mad, _or_ horny. Was I more of an animal than a man? But then again… men were animals, as were women. We were all mammals, actually. I shook my head. The sake was making me too contemplative.

After the dinner, Kakashi sensei bantered with us for a while and then disappeared. Tch. Probably went off to Kurenai's to avoid life as usual. Then, after his fifth bowl of ramen, Sai dragged Naruto in the direction of their apartments. Since Sakura and I lived in the same complex in the opposite direction, we said our goodbyes and then walked through the quiet streets together. We were silent and for the first time, I think Sakura actually appreciated the lack of verbal exchange. I wasn't surprised because it was a comfortable, companionable silence. What struck me, though, was that she was so different from when she was younger. If this was eight years ago she'd be trying to talk my ear off.

"Do you really want to focus on your chakra control, Sasuke?" Was the first hesitant question she asked. I felt bad that she was hesitant. She probably wasn't sure if I wanted to talk, but I did, so I responded.

"Yes." I replied easily. That sort of training would help me cover the areas of my training that were lacking. I would need to learn how to fine tune my chakra and its flow to not only improve my effectiveness in battle but also accomplish that poison-removal method I had copied off of Sakura with my sharingan, in case there was ever a need for it out in the field. There was peace amongst the nations now, but who knew what would happen in the next few years…

"Good, you'll need it if you want to save a teammate in the future." She responded and I nodded my agreement. Sometimes, Sakura seemed like a Yamanaka. She knew what was on my mind without really trying to know. It was interesting. But then I almost threw up my ramen as the vile image of blonde-haired-green-eyed babies assaulted my mind. Disgusting.

My next thought disgusting me more: He'd leave her if she ever got pregnant; he was the type. I stopped in my tracks just then, stunned. What if they _actually _fucked? It's not like you can actually _stop _someone from having sex if they really wanted to… Sakura knew how to prevent— that was a stupid thought. She was one of the best doctors in the _world. _Of course she knew how to avoid pregnancy. She wasn't _stupid_. I was being an idiot. I was being a total idiot and I don't know why.

Stupid sake.

"Sasuke?" She sounded confused. She had stopped a few feet in front of me and turned to face me. The moon was full and bright in the sky and bathed her hair in lunar light, as crappily poetic as that sounds, even to me. Anyway, her hair looked more silver than pink and she looked... sexy, twisted around like that. I had a great view of both her backside _and _the size of her breasts. I shook my head almost _too _violently.

Bad thoughts, Sasuke. Bad thoughts.

"It's nothing." And she nodded, walking ahead as I caught up to her. I decided to start a conversation. I wasn't much good at it, but I tried, because I remembered all the times that I rejected her when _she _must've felt isolated or lonely in her own way and tried to talk to _me _when we were kids. I don't know why I wanted to make amends for all of those times, but I did.

"You've been visiting the Uchiha graves." Now she stopped dead in her tracks, giving me a calculating look. I tensed a little, because she looked ready for a fight. She relaxed after she realized the reaction that had been ingrained into my brain, and I relaxed too a few seconds later. I felt much better now that I didn't feel like we were about to have a full-blown shinobi battle. She caught up to me and we continued walking.

"Yeah, I go to visit Obito-san. I'm surprised I haven't run into Kakashi-sensei yet." I paused because I knew there was more. "I didn't know your brother very well, but he's a hero too, so I send him prayers too… I hope you're not offended." She added cautiously.

"I'm not." I responded, because I really wasn't. If anything, I was happy that there were people out there that cared. I was just confused, because I didn't know why I was talking about this. This conversation had no logical goal. But I had no goal anymore either, so I went with it instead; reminding myself that change was good. It was what they taught me to do in therapy when I felt, _weird_ during the "healing process". Was I still healing, mentally and emotionally from everything? Probably. I would probably be healing for the rest of my life. There was a lot of thinking I had to do. I was just grateful that I still had people that cared to help me along the way. I can't believe I was hell-bent on erasing people like Sakura from my life. I can't believe I _actually _wanted to kill her at some point...

"Oh. Okay." And she quieted down again.

Minutes later, we passed by the laundry place. I gave it a disdainful look. Sakura noticed.

"What?" She asked and stopped, looking at the bubbles stuck onto the glass of the place. I chuckled, because it was stupid.

"Want to know something funny?" I asked her with a smirk. She looked at me owlishly, but nodded and smirked back a second later. I liked that look on her face, actually. It made her look like she was up to no good. It suited her whimsical color scheme in an ironic way that I particularly liked.

"Shoot." She spoke and crossed her arms.

"The lady who owns this place hates me. She says I cursed her business." And I snorted because I was still heavily buzzed and even the _idea_ of superstition was laughable.

"What? Why?" Sakura had narrowed her eyes. She didn't find it as funny as I did.

"Superstition." I shrugged. "Maybe fear."

"You're not a criminal anymore." There wasn't much emotion or inflection to her tone. She was stating a fact, nothing more. Her personal opinion of me was left out, probably because she didn't want to tell me how she felt about me. I understood that. She was probably hesitant about even being friends again. Maybe in her own way, she hadn't forgiven me completely and maybe she really didn't feel the same way about me as before and she just didn't want me to get the wrong idea and assume she still _did _love me. That was fine. I understood that. I wish she'd just be _normal_ like how she was around Naruto when I wasn't there. Surely, they were more lax around each other than when Sakura and I were around each other, no? Or maybe I'm just overthinking again. Stupid sake.

"No I'm not." I responded, agreeing. "I might just give her peace and go to the place across town instead." I shrugged, but Sakura smiled.

"She likes cupcakes."

"What?"

"Obaa-san Izumi likes cupcakes. Get her some and tell her you're sorry for whatever you did to make her uncomfortable. She's traditional so it should do the trick." Sakura offered and it was a genius idea.

"You picked up a few things from Ino." I smirked. "Cunning, Sakura."

"No, I'm just a great con artist when I have to be. It comes from being a shinobi, Sasuke." She coolly responded with little expression in her tone. Her voice sounded a bit darker and I wondered what kinds of missions she was sent on that dimmed that light she used to have about her. Sakura had always been "pure" in my mind. She had always been the one that was filled with love. She was always the one who hadn't been touched by darkness. But now I had to wonder… had Naruto and I filled her with darkness after everything happened? Nowadays, she was always destroying my memories of what I remembered her to be…

_And _I frowned at the lack of the honorific at the end of my name. I didn't know if it meant that she no longer viewed me as special, or if I had become more special to her instead. Confusing. Sakura was confusing. She had become an enigma that was completely beyond me. Was I always wrong about her or had she just changed after a lifetime of hardship? If she changed, then when? What event was it that changed her? Fuck it. I was near-drunk anyway. She'd excuse the next question…

"What changed?" I asked her. And that question seemed to apply to so many things, I was surprised it actually left my mouth. I only realized how deep the question was after it had left me. When had I gotten so slow? When had I stopped thinking about my words before I said them? Her eyes flitted all over my face. Left, right, up, somewhere behind my shoulder. She didn't like that. That was a wild card. Sakura was calculating. She didn't like things messing up her strategies. I smirked. Naruto was always the wildcard that messed up people's strategies. When had I picked up that trait? The changes between the three of us would never cease to surprise me…

But again, what changed between us? What changed about you? What changed in the village? What changed everyone? There were so many ways that question could be interpreted.

"What do you mean?" She did the smart thing and "innocently" asked for clarification, but I didn't feel like it was right to pick at healing scabs. This wasn't the topic to talk about tonight. I wouldn't tell her what was on my mind. Forget it. That was stupid. No more sake for me. No more.

"Just a dumb question. I surprised you." I smirked because I'll be damned if that Yamanaka's the only one that gets to do that to her. A slow grin spread across her face. She decked me in the shoulder and I winced, because it actually _hurt_.

"Gear up, Sasuke, because in two days I'm going to kick your ass." She threatened playfully and I liked the slightly husky tone to her voice. I could tell she had become dangerous over the years. Now, I don't want to sound like a pervert, but I _loved _danger. I think deep down, every ninja likes danger to some extent. It's psychological. It's a double-edged sword. No, you don't want to die, and you don't want any of your loved ones to die. But, deep down, nearly dying makes you feel the most alive. Fighting makes you appreciate yourself and all the work you've put into honing your skills and talents, and if you're fighting for what you believe is justice, then you appreciate yourself. Danger is good, because when you're alive and a particularly successful ninja, danger eventually equates to success in your brain. In other words, over time shinobi got fucked up in some way. I think it's how we notice another killer or another shinobi in our vicinity. Civilians were just… different. They were hard to reach out to; hard to understand because they simply don't deal with what we deal with on a regular basis. But a shinobi… you could practically see a haunting, fucked-up copy of yourself if you looked into a fellow shinobi's eyes. Anyone who took a life had _that specific_ _look_. And every shinobi had that instinct that kicks in that says _be careful. This one's just as dangerous as you are…_

"We'll see who kicks whose ass, Sakura…"I crossed my arms and she laughed haughtily and turned around. I caught up to her and we walked the rest of the short distance to the complex in that same companionable silence. Well, somewhat companionable. As the alcohol started to fade away, I realized how impatient I was to pull that stupid paper out of my pocket and see if Ino succeeded. I would somehow have to find her and plan further ahead tomorrow. Before I knew it, we were at our respective doors.

"I'm going to be at the hospital tomorrow, if anyone asks." No one would ask me, but it was nice of her to tell me anyway, because that way I knew I could just invite Ino over to talk. I nodded at Sakura. She grinned.

"Goodnight." And she moved to stuff her key into the lock. I smirked at the stained wood, remembering the tomato incident. I can't believe I was pissed enough to smear _tomatoes_ all over her door. She caught me looking and smirked.

"Ha. Ha. Yes, your tomato-artwork is _phenomenal_ Sasuke. I'm sure you can compete with Sai at the next art expo in Konoha." She drawled sarcastically and I shook my head in good humor.

"Goodnight." I stated instead and entered my own apartment. She shot me a smile before she darted inside and I shut my door behind me.

-X-

AWWWWWW TEAM SEVEN FINALLY REUNITES TO CELEBRATE WITH RAMEN, GUYS! IT'S SOOOOOO CUTE!

So I stuck to Sasuke in this chapter because I felt comfortable writing him. Next chapter will be all Sakura! Hit me up with reviews! Tell me what you love and what can be worked on! Oh my gosh! That thing where he confessed how he lost his virginity! That surprised even _me_. XD

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto ™ Is this really necessary for every chapter? I own nothing. NOTHING. I don't make any money writing this.

See 'ya later, Space Cowboy!


	7. Changes

KISEKI

|7|

**Please read the **_**entire **_**chapter through, and the note at the bottom of the chapter, even if you decide you're not impressed. Please. **

-X-

It was three o'clock. I was humming to myself, waiting outside of the hospital for Ino, so we could go shopping already. The sun was shining and I was enjoying the warm breeze in the almost stifling air. I wasn't nervous for my date, or for going shopping; I was really just disinterested in having Ino reject every outfit I liked. I know her pickiness stemmed from a good place, I just had grown impatient to it in recent times. That was probably why my closet only consisted of ninja gear. I finished off the last of my orange popsicle, kicking my heels against the low stone wall surrounding the newly-built hospital. I saw Ino approaching and I smiled. She picked up her pace when she saw me, but… she wasn't smiling back.

Uh-oh.

"Hey, Sakura." She gave me a nervous smile, and I responded with a flat look as I threw my popsicle stick into a green trash can about seven feet away to my right, beneath the wall. Perect aim. It flew through the can dead in the center. Ignoring my miniscule accomplishment, I crossed my arms and hopped off the top of the wall, standing right in front of her when my feet hit the ground.

"What." I deadpanned. Because I wasn't feeling patient.

She cringed.

"Jeez, maybe having Sasuke live next to you was a worse thing than we initially thought." Ino frowned as I glared at her, but she was right. I had been spending more time with Sasuke since our truce. Maybe he was rubbing off on me; bad attitude included. I took a deep breath and tried to soften my expression. Ino got right down to business, thank god. Deep down, she knew how stressful the hospital was.

"Suchiru is sick. He came down with a stomach flu, Sakura, it's really bad." She blatantly stated, leaving me to gather the rest of the information. Our date was up in flames as if it were in the path of Sasuke's gokkakyu no jutsu. Well, fuck. My face fell and I became concerned for Suchiru, my inner doctor immediately wanting to see if there was anything I could do to salvage the situation.

"Should I help him?" I asked, digging worried nails into my palm.

"Shizune-san made the trip to the compound to take care of him, actually!" Ino assured with her hands up, a little too quickly, but I ignored that as she pulled the passes out and distracted me by waving them slightly. They were for the club we were going to: _Hofuku_ for "retribution".

"Suchiru says he wants you to go anyway. He bought your pass for you and he wants you to go even if it's without him; he told me to tell you." She explained and expectantly waited for my response.

I frowned at that. That wasn't right. It was supposed to be our first date… I mean, don't get me wrong, it was a really sweet gesture, but I just wasn't the type to go out while someone was sick and party without them. That just wasn't, _me._

"Ino…" I started. She should know how I am by now, really. I was genuinely interested in her cousin; did she really think I was going to piss his hard-earned money away without him there? I should've bought my own ticket… damn it.

"It's okay! I already started to ask around if someone will take the extra tickets, because Sai decided he didn't want to go either for some reason… so… I don't know… I mean, it's not the end of the world…" She offered in her "psychologist" tone that I only noticed she had adopted after the war.

What? It's "not the end of the world"? What was she talking about? And then, when I looked into her worried blue eyes, I realized she was concerned that after Sasuke, I was still afraid of rejection. She was worried that I thought this was all done on purpose to spit me and bully me. I laughed in her face to quell those thoughts. Come on, I'm Haruno Sakura. I'm sexy and I could care less what anyone else thinks of me. Shit happens sometimes.

"Ino, don't tell me you're afraid my feelings are hurt because your cousin got sick…" I chastised when I was done laughing and she seemed to relax, but then she frowned deeper and looked away. Wait, was there more to it?

"It's all my fault, Sakura. I feel so bad. I took him to go out to eat last night. I wanted to know more about what he thought of you—"

"Ino!" I interrupted, offended. She knew what she had done wrong and continued instead.

"I know I know! I have to stay out of your business, I know. But I couldn't help it, okay; forget about that part!" She spoke quickly, waving her hands around, expressively. "But anyway, I took him to this junky fast food place near the compound because it was late and I think the pork he ate made him sick. Shizune-san says he'll be out for days." She finished in a dejected tone, but then put her hands on her hips and let her determination shine through her eyes.

Her next sentence would be a self-righteous one, that's for sure.

"The least you can let me do is take you out in his stead." She seemed to not want to take "no" for an answer. As I thought.

"I think I have a better way of making it up to him, Ino." And I pushed away the purple and black passes that she had held out in her stubborn fit with a gentle smile. She looked _observantly_ nervous as she studied my face. "How about this, you take the girls out with those tickets and have a blast. I'll stay here and check up on your cousin, with your permission, of course." I offered because it was the morally correct path to take. Ino didn't accept it though.

"What? No! You have to go! I mean— I'm not gonna let you stay behind and get sick from him, either! He's been throwing up everywhere since the middle of last night!" She crossed her arms, the four tickets in one hand. I grimaced, because I didn't want to go and deal with other guys at a club. I fruitlessly waited for Sasuke for how long? …Yeah, I think I could wait a week for Suchiru. It was no big deal. He seemed like he had a kind heart anyway. It would be rude to go and maybe meet another guy, off of his finances too! Yeah, no, I couldn't do that, no way! I did _not _want to be stuck having to pay attention to two guys either, all because I have no self-control when I drink. Guys were the hardest to get rid of once they were _really_ interested in you. And if you told them that you were interested in someone else? Pffft they always went nuts to prove you wrong at least shinobi did. I only ever went after shinobi, I realized. They never expected me to be strong enough to hold my own against them, so I felt safe in the shadow of their ignorance.

"Sakura, really, I won't let you stay. I don't think Suchiru would be happy if you stayed, either." Ino pressed. She was in bossy-best-friend-mode… _great_. I decided to change the subject while I mulled her statement over.

"Who's going in place of Sai?" I asked instead, because I needed more time to think. How do I convince her I _need_ to stay?

"I don't know. I don't even think I want to go if I can't dance with my boyfriend…" Ino frowned and her shoulders dropped. Yeah that was another problem. Ino didn't have many boundaries when she was drinking either. We both looked at each other, thinking, contemplating and suddenly, Ino's eyes lit up.

"I know!" She shouted suddenly. A woman peered over at us as she was walking past with her small dog and Ino grabbed me by my shoulders, excitedly. I gave the woman an awkward smile, to which the woman returned just as awkwardly and continued on her way. Ugh, I _hated _it when Ino got excited… Nothing good usually _ever_ came of it. Her excitement was always mischievous in a very social way, _always_. She winked at me as she spoke.

"I have a mission for you, Sakura." She cooed and her eyes sparkled, but I knew better. That was her sugar-coated evil shining through… Crap. A '_mission' _now? Why did Suchiru have to get sick? Why did things _never _go the way I planned them to? It was like someone up there was against me! I glared up at the sky to make it a point to kami-sama that I was most displeased. I sighed in exasperation, but I wasn't defeated just yet.

"I'll take it if I want to. You're not forcing a stupid 'mission' on me, Ino." I held my ground. I was an adult. Ino would _not_ push me around. Her cheeks puffed up in a determined expression as her eyes flitted across my face, calculatingly.

"Fine. But just hear it out. It's not that bad, I promise." She had appealed to my reserved side and I waved my hand for her to continue and rolled my eyes. "_Fine_..." But it wasn't a solid "fine" it was a stretched and weary "fine" because really, I was too old to be playing games on behalf of Ino. I knew she liked getting into people's romances and this sounded _just_ like one of her match-making schemes. Nothing ever worked out when someone tried playing matchmaker. Hadn't she learned that by now?

"Remember how we talked about Kakashi-sensei having a thing for Kurenai-sensei?" She whispered now, because Kakashi-sensei had ears and eyes _everywhere _and we both knew better than to speak loudly when scheming about him. Regardless, the second she mentioned sensei I was already rejecting the idea. She was going to have _me _set _them_ up to make them come out with it already. Oh no, no,_ no._ Kurenai-sensei had a four-and-a-half year old to care for, anyway! How the hell was I going to get her to go to a _club _of all things?

"Don't give me that look, Sakura." She pierced my thoughts with a warning in her tone.

Great, I had "the look" on my face.

"Ino, Kurenai-sensei has a _small child._" I stressed, because Kurenai-sensei was a fantastic mother. She would never leave her son behind to go drink and banter around. That just wasn't like her.

"That's exactly why she needs to go out and why _not_ with Kakashi-sensei?" Ino argued back.

"Kakashi-sensei will sneer and blow it off, anyway. That's a _stupid_ idea. Just go and bring whoever you want to replace Suchiru and I. Don't overcomplicate things!" I was getting aggravated now. She _always _liked drama. Couldn't she ever knock it off?

"He won't blow it off if you tell him you'll need him to keep the boys away from you." She winked, with a finger up. I smashed my hand into her face and pushed her away from me because I was tired of speaking in hushed tones. This was _not _the conversation I wanted to have after an eleven-hour shift at the hospital, and _yes_ I had been there at exactly six am after about three or so hours of sleep.

"You're ridiculous, Ino-pig." I grumbled. She smacked my hand away and looked offended. She shoved the tickets at my flatter-than-hers chest and held them there. I stared down at where they were between my B-sized breasts. I glared up at her. She glared determinedly back.

"Take them and do what you will with them. They were for you, Sakura, don't be ungrateful." She spoke in a tone echoing finality.

Ungrateful? I was _not _ungrateful… okay… maybe I was selfish because I was slightly introverted and lazy and didn't really _feel_ like getting three other people to go with me to a club… but those might've been the rejection issues I thought I had squashed a long time ago because t's not exactly like I had kept in much contact with everyone over the years and this was really sudden. I frowned at the tickets she still held to my beating heart and rolled my eyes. It would be equally messed up if I decided not to go when Suchiru obviously wanted me to. And if she said that he said he wanted me to have fun, even without him, why the hell not? I sighed.

"Fine." I glared at her and took the four tickets. Now I had to go find three other people. Three. This was going to be _so_ annoying. Who was single anymore? TenTen was dating Lee, who didn't drink, which would be a good thing because he'd probably help keep me in check, but I didn't want to burden them. I had failed at saving their teammate, how could I ask them to babysit me while I drank myself until all of my pain and guilt was gone? That was _wrong_. I _could _ask Naruto and Hinata if they wanted to go… but… Hinata's father would never allow it; not his eldest daughter, no way, not even if Naruto was there in bijuu mode the entire time. Pfft. Okay so they were off of the list… But I could still ask Naruto to chaperone me, right? But… it was sudden and I was sure today was Saturday. He and Hinata probably had plans already. Sai didn't want to go so… why _not_ ask Kurenai-sensei and kakashi-sensei? I pettily looked at Ino, holding a small grudge against her. Really, how could she force me to do this? She gave me a soft, apologetic smile and I couldn't really hold it against her.

I sighed.

"I'm not mad at you. Either way I'm going to just drink while some dumb guy pays for it. But still... This is a lot of work and I still don't have an outfit for tonight." I put my one hand, the one that wasn't full with the passes on my hip. That was a problem. I wasn't going to search all day and not have anything nice to go to the place with later. Screw that. Finding people to go wasn't worth it.

"There's still time. Just go get some people and I'll be out looking for good outfits for you. You can meet me at the clothing market when you're done." Ino was grinning and I knew she liked to dress me up, so I sucked it up for old times' sake and just took off anbu-style.

The first place I went? Kakashi-sensei's apartment. As I placed my feet next to his window on the third floor, I noticed he wasn't there. I smirked wryly. Time to try Kurenai-sensei's place, then. I leapt across town using my chakra because I just didn't feel like walking everywhere. This was a huge wrench in my plans for today and I was in no mood to deal with throngs of people in my way. In front of Kurenai's neat cherry-wood apartment door, I took a deep breath and knocked twice. I didn't hear footsteps, but my awareness felt Kurenai-sensei's chakra come up to the door. She opened it wide and smiled at me.

"Sakura-chan!" She turned around to Kakashi-sensei in the background, who looked to be playing with Kurenai's son. They were playing a game of shogi on the floor, and I had to hold back my snicker because Kakashi-sensei looked _weird_ around kids. He was gentler, somehow; entirely not the anbu he was or the feared and revered copy-ninja of the Leaf. Little Asuma peered at me with curious, dark eyes from his spot on the fluffy, white, carpeted floor. He was going to be a tall kid. "Kakashi, you were right, it _is_ her." She smirked at my sensei who only nodded back. Kakashi-sensei was nervous, I could tell in the way he was sitting cross legged in front of the couch... his back was a _wee_ bit too straight.

But he had _felt _me coming, so this wasn't a surprise, it was merely a confrontation that he had to get out of the way because _eventually _it was going to happen. He learned that last night over ramen with his "cute little students" who had grown up and outsmarted him, for once. Heh, I felt some pride at that, actually.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt." I suddenly felt bad, however, like maybe somehow I was intruding on something special. Who was I to come in here and take away my sensei's happiness and privacy like it was my job to?

"No, no Sakura. It's so good to see you. Come in and sit down while I fix something for us." Kurenai reassured as she stepped into her apartment. I did as she suggested and kicked off my shoes before I stepped into her apartment. She went to the small kitchen area to make tea while I sat on the couch and waited. The tickets in my pocket suddenly felt very heavy and I smiled at Asuma as he smiled back at me. He had wild, dark hair and a grin that looked more like a smirk. If I was stupid and didn't know any better he looked like a less regal version of what Sasuke's kids might one day look like.

"Who're you?" He asked from his cross-legged position across from Kakashi-sensei.

"My name is Sakura." I responded gently.

"_Asuma._ What did I tell you about introductions?" Kurenai hissed from the kitchen. I didn't know she was capable of sounding so dangerous. Nervous, the blushing kid looked up at Kakashi who just nodded in return. Wow… how long had Kakashi been around for Asuma to look to him for silent support like that? I looked at the game of shogi between the two males. Their round had begun not long ago. How long had Shikamaru been around for Asuma to know how to play shogi already? He was only four and a half! I had missed out on so much these last four years… I didn't even know the kid's birth date…

"Sorry, nee-chan. My name is Sarutobi Asuma, may I have your name?" He started over. I grinned at how bravely he stuck out his hand, a determined expression on his slightly tanned face.

"I'm Haruno Sakura. I'm a friend of your mom's. It's nice to finally meet you." I smiled brightly and he grinned again.

"Kakashi-tan says you're an iryo-nin!" He blurted and I laughed as I thought I heard Kurenai place a plate down in the background a little too hard. Kakashi-tan? Well, _that_ was new to hear… who knew Kakashi-sensei could win kids over so easily? Naruto, Sasuke and I didn't like him when we first met him.

"Yes I am." I agreed with what he said, because it was hard to say anything else to such a blatant declaration of known information.

"He never said you had pink hair, though." He looked curious for a moment, but then winced.

"Asuma!" Another warning from the kitchen. He frowned.

"It's okay, Asuma-kun. A lot of people comment on my hair. Do you like the color?" I asked in a soft tone. I was using my big-sister voice that I used with my younger patients at the hospital.

"It looks pretty on you!" He grinned. And I grinned back because that was sweet, coming from a kid. "But my favorite color is blue!" He added and I smiled because blue was a soothing color. It was the most common one that children liked.

"Oh really? Wanna know my favorite color?" I asked with a grin as I heard Kurenai walk over. Asuma seemed to study me with his calculating eyes. Shikamaru was starting to rub off on him, definitely.

"I think it's red." He commented before I could tell him. I smirked. He was definitely Asuma's kid. Great observational skills.

"You're right. It's the only color that looks okay with my silly hair." I stuck my tongue out at him and he laughed as Kurenai-sensei placed the tray of tea on the small, square side-table next to the couch and handed me a cup.

"Ne, Sakura-nee-chan! Do you wanna help me beat Kakashi-sama at shogi!? It's an awesome game that Shika-nii-chan taught me!" I laughed but I shook my head as I sipped my tea.

"I would stay to play, but I have a bit of a tight schedule. I just wanted to ask you guys if you'd go out with me tonight? I came upon a few extra tickets…"

Kakashi didn't seem surprised. Did he find out that Suchiru was sick before I did? That was weird… why was everyone in my business, somehow? Or rather, why did I _feel_ like everyone was in my business all of a sudden? Maybe I had been too social this last week? I saved that thought for when I would drink later tonight.

"Ah, I see you've found out." Kakashi-sensei drawled in response. I shot him a suspicious glance.

"Yes, I _do_ tend to wonder how you seem to know things before I do…" I deadpanned back, but added a bit of sweetness to my voice to make it sound edgy and dangerous.

Kakashi-sensei's one eye twinkled and I knew he was smirking beneath his mask.

"Oh I have my ways." He shrugged and I glowered before I shook my head. Now was not the time to pull information out of my old sensei in front of his girlfriend and her four-year-old kid. I would just have to rip him a new one for this later, somehow.

"Anyway, I can't let these passes go to waste and I couldn't imagine going with any one else… if you'll go, of course; Just for a couple drinks and maybe some memorable pictures?" I shrugged. Because I wanted them to know they didn't have to stay forever. They were kind of my last resort… I couldn't really ask anyone else, to be honest.

"Ah, no deal, Sakura-chan." Kakashi sensei replied glumly and I frowned. Kurenai put a hand on my shoulder soothingly.

"But Shikamaru is in town with Temari. I think they might be getting bored of just walking around. They'll be here later and I'm sure Temari would love to experience a night out of Konoha in fire country." Kurenai mended. In other words, she would force Shikamaru to clean up and take his girlfriend out because Kakashi had already told her I was in a pinch and might come here for assistance. Great. Why did I expect any different outcome? Why did I expect to come here with an upper hand? My logical mind told me not to fret, however, because I don't really care who goes. It's just important that the people that go have fun. Shikamaru would hate it and call it "troublesome" but Temari would tell him to loosen up. She'd at least have fun. So that was good enough for me. Actually, none of it mattered because I was going to go and have fun drinking anyway, but the objective here was, "fun in honor of Suchiru", not, "lament the fact that you have no one to hang out with anymore". I nodded at Kurenai and handed her two tickets from my pocket. I had one left. I was going to have to find one more person.

"Okay. I have to go find one more person, so I'll be heading out. I stood up and bowed in respect to Kurenai and Kakashi. "Thank you kindly for the tea." I always loved a cup of Jasmine. It was light but fragrant and rich in anti-oxidants.

"Of course. Good luck with the other pass." Kurenai responded with a confident smile. I briefly wondered what it must be like to be her. She had a baby with the man she loved, even though that man was dead. She had someone else who cared about her in a romantic way that she obviously felt romantic about as well. She had a nice apartment and was being taken care of.

She had what every woman wanted: A son, a male to raise and love her son, and a comfortable, solid roof over her head; no fear of death and the assurance that she still had enough skill to protect herself and her son should it ever come to that. What was wrong with me that I couldn't ever see my life giving me that kind of peaceful future?

"Ja ne, Sakura-chan." Kakashi-sensei's voice interrupted my solemn thoughts. He waved and I nodded at him. Surprisingly, Asuma jumped up and hugged my legs tightly. I ruffled his hair in response. He was a sweet kid.

"Come play shogi with me next time, nee-chan!" He grinned up at me and I smiled back down at him.

"Of course, Asuma." Then, when he let go I shunshinned out of there, off to find Kiba, because Kiba would be up for a night out. And as far as I remembered he still wanted me, so why not bribe him with an opportunity to get at me? Right? Okay. That was mean. It was an evil tactic, but whatever. Kiba would at least drink with me.

At the Inuzuka compound, Kiba answered, Akamaru in tow. The large dog jumped ahead of his master, placing each of his front paws on one of my shoulders and I hugged him, scratching behind his ears. I laughed because I hadn't seen Akamaru in a few years. He looked shaggy and sturdy as always.

"Akamaru, really." Kiba chastised and the dog barked back at him and jumped off, nudging his head against my waist. I patted the dog as I looked to Kiba.

"Yo Sakura. What's going on?" Kiba asked with his usual friendly smile. He had grown handsome too. But I knew better than to mess around with Inuzuka Kiba; not at this point in his life, at least.

"I came across an extra pass to go to Hofuku in the festival town. Wanna go?" I asked bluntly because that was just the way we communicated. Kuba blushed and I saw him nervously scratch at his palms.

"Well… I would, Sakura, but I kind of… have a date tonight. Maybe some other time?" He replied lamely.

Jashin damn it. Kiba: He was cute and he knew it and he liked to play the game and juggle girls... Horndog. Kami-sama hated me. The _one _guy who could take up the last ticket found _someone else _to be interested in. Shit.

"Okay, sorry for bugging you, gotta go." It was time to high-tail it out of there.

"Wait, Saku—

I shunshinned again, because I didn't even want to _think_ about Kiba offering to go on a date some other time. Ugh. I just wanted to drink. Why was it so hard to just go and drink? Why did Suchiru have to spend money on _four _tickets instead of just two?

Drinking. I was developing a problem… definitely…

Wait a second…

…

_Drinking_! I _knew_ someone who wanted to drink with me, but I'd have to make sure he didn't get the wrong idea first…

Ten minutes later I found myself at apartment 312, knocking on Sasuke's door because he would be the only one not necessarily busy… unless he had something planned… which I hoped he didn't, which—

"Sakura."

Shit. I was staring into space. When had he opened his door? Stopbeingso_fucking_nervousfornoreason! I screamed at myself. I'm not twelve anymore! Why was I so worried about Sasuke getting the wrong idea?

Sake. Just focus on sake.

"We're drinking tonight." There was no saying no. Sasuke crossed his arms and glowered at me. I took that as my moment to enter his apartment. I was feeling defensive and invading his personal territory somehow made me feel in control so I did it… and refrained from pacing in his kitchen. I leaned against one of his countertops with my arms crossed. He was still immobile at the door as he stared at me, a challenging expression on his face. He looked from my feet to the door, twice.

Nope. I wasn't moving.

"What." I snipped. Got something to say, Uchiha? I felt confrontational. I hated this whole situation from happening because I had to _confront_ Uchiha Sasuke and ask the smug jerk out. Sasuke was my friend, but complementing him by asking him of all people to go somewhere with me was dangerous. His ego would inflate, probably, and I would feel awkward because of how invested I used to be in him.

Sasuke shook his head and shut his door. He sauntered confidently into the kitchen and I _forced _my shoulders to remain straight. It was easy to feel like steak for a shark around Sasuke. His mouth was as smart as mine and I wasn't sure if I could win a battle of witty words in my stressed state at the moment. I felt like if I made one wrong move I'd embarrass myself and be that pathetic twelve-year-old I was when he left.

"I just drank last night, Sakura." Sasuke was leaning on the white tile countertop across from me, crossing his arms, in a cool, relaxed position. His entire body was telling me he had the upper hand even though his face was expressionless. It was like an instinct or a sixth sense I had that made me feel that way. The question was _why_? _Why _was Sasuke traipsing around like a cock amongst hens (figuratively speaking of course) in response to me _telling _him that he's going to drink with me tonight?

"Okay. You don't get it. You're drinking with me tonight. There's no saying "no". Suchiru got sick and I need a baby sitter that can hold his liquor. Plus, we still have to see who can drink who under the table. I hope you haven't forgotten that." I spoke in a factual tone. I spoke to him like he was _just a friend_. I tried to block out the horrid memories of twelve-year-old me telling him how much I loved him and wanted him to stay and him shitting all over my confession as a result. As a defense mechanism, I completely ignored the fact that this was Sasuke standing in front of me. I completely ignored the distinct and specific hum of his chakra. I pasted Naruto's face on his body because Naruto was easier to think about and be around than Uchiha Sasuke. Treat him like a bro, Sakura. He'll get it. He won't get the wrong idea. Don't ruin your friendship by thinking about the past. Don't.

_But his body is really hot, isn't it, even with Naruto's face on it? Hmm… what would be better? Naruto's build with Sasuke's face or Sasuke's body with Naruto's face? _

Kami-sama, SHUT UP. What the _fuck_ was that thought!? Now was _not _the time to be having a mental disorder. They were teammates! You don't think about teammates that way!

_Well… Sasuke's our teammate and friend now… why don't we treat him the way we treat Naruto? Share a bed, wear his old clothes, cry into his chest after we murder the next child… _

That's… that's not right…

_Exactly… we're not over what happened back then... I wonder if Sasuke pities us… _

Fuck off. Maybe my past concerning Sasuke is still a healing scab, but I had to get over it. It's in the past. Sasuke deserves better than me whining about what happened after everything he's been through.

No answer. I won that round. Thank you logic. Sasuke was talking. Fuck.

"What?" I spoke dumbly.

He looked peeved.

"Repeat what I just said." He demanded.

"No. You repeat what you just said." I defended but it made no sense.

"That makes no sense; it defeats the purpose." He was as sharp as ever.

"I wasn't listening. I was thinking." I blatantly revealed.

He cocked a brow.

"About what?" He asked superiorly.

"About how nosy you are, now repeat what you said. I'm listening." I quipped back childishly. He shot me a minor glare at the "nosy" comment but he let it slide.

"I'll drink with you tonight on one condition." He repeated. Now he was smirking and _I _was narrowing my eyes. What fucking condition could he _possibly _set?

"Okay…" I replied slowly, not trusting the mischief behind his eyes. Ino had given me the same look.

"You have to do something you don't like with me." He stated in a simple tone. Oh. He just wanted to hand out an equal punishment. Funny...

That was the moment I realized that Uchiha Sasuke liked to play games. I glowered at him.

"I don't like to go to clubs." I defended hotly. That was an asinine request for him to make!

He gave me a disbelieving look. He was onto my bullshit. I sighed because I didn't want to lie to him.

"Okay, I don't like to go to clubs _with people I know_…" I clarified in an honest tone.

Sasuke nodded, briefly closing his eyes in understanding. I smirked because he liked to play games and I could very well play games too. It was time for a counterstrike in this conversation; there was a loophole in his request, heh heh...

"I'll go do something I don't like with you in turn for you drinking with me when you clearly don't want to, sure… but only under the condition that you figure out what I don't like to do all on your own." I stated proudly, because I had him there. He knew _nothing _about me. I knew _all _of his little quirks. I remembered them from the brief childhood we shared. He knew _nothing_ about me because he _never _cared about me. Hah. Fu fu fuuuu I _totally _got him. Haughty Uchiha thinks he's hot shi—

"You don't like eating excessively spicy food. So we'll eat excessively spicy food." He shrugged easily with a smirk, as if he had beaten me to the last canteen of water in a desert.

My mouth fell open in response. I was completely taken aback and didn't cover up my surprise fast enough to come up with a lie, probably because it was getting easier to talk to him the more I got to re-acquaint myself with him. But still. How did he _know _that!? I stared at him horrified and watched as he lifted a finger to close my mouth for me. I smacked it away the second it touched my jaw, blinked, and regained my composure.

"How could you have possibly known that!?"I glared. That was my _moment; _how could he have ruined it for me like that!? I was supposed to shut him up back there! He was still smirking smugly. Ugh, I wanted to wipe that expression off of his face. I would, but in due time. We still had to spar, and I _still _planned on sucker punching him right in his sexy square jaw for leaving me on a bench!

"How pathetic do you think my memory is?" He asked seriously. All of a sudden his tone and the entire atmosphere changed. His smirk faded into a stoic mask and I had to wonder how he managed to make the air feel so different with just one sentence… Did he mean something deeper when he said that? I narrowed my eyes as I felt the ghosts of hot tears flowing down my face… It was like he was staring _through_ me at that same memory. I briefly checked my chakra flow to make sure he hadn't actually genjutsued me. I'd _never_ get rid of the memory of that night, unfortunately. Maybe he hadn't forgotten it, either. I shook my head, choosing not to travel down that road with him right now.

"When did I ever tell you I hated too much spice?" I demanded instead, because if there was someone currently spilling my secrets, I wanted to know who I needed to beat into a pulp.

"You never told me." He replied vaguely, a cool expression on his handsome face. A glare had him talking again, though. "You told Naruto once… a while ago, while we were at Ichiraku Ramen." He shrugged.

"Oh." And I couldn't help but think it was sweet that he had cared to retain that information. But I didn't get my hopes up. Please, I'm smarter and much more mature than that. I remembered stupid information too. Everyone did. It was the dumb little things that human brains tended to focus on the most. It shouldn't be surprising that he remembered.

"Well I'm not surprised. It's the little things that people tend to remember the most; the "stupid" information. You might not remember Naruto's birthday but you'll always remember that he _actually _poisoned himself on our first C-ranked mission in Wave." I giggled at the memory and Sasuke offered a short, quiet laugh as well. The air was less tense now and I sighed in relief.

"Fine, Sasuke I'll go have something extremely spicy with you." I conceded.

Sasuke shrugged. "Choji's family owns a restaurant. They have some spicy barbeque there." He offered and I contemplated. I grimaced. I liked spicy things don't get me wrong, but I liked _mildly _spicy things; I was very specific about that. On the scale of "spicy" I was a beginner and I would always be.

"You can pick the place and the entre." I offered and Sasuke smirked more to himself than me. I suddenly regretted offering for him to pick the entre I was to eat.

"Just don't make it so that I lose my tongue, okay?" And I lightly punched him in the shoulder. He nodded in response.

"So Yamanaka ditched you?" He asked and I hit him again this time, but harder. He rubbed his shoulder and glared at me, but I was fuming and embarassed.

"No!" I defended hotly. "He came down with a stomach flu because stupid _Ino-pig_ couldn't keep her nose out of my business." Blaming Ino was easier than admitting I was replacing Suchiru with Sasuke, my childhood crush who did _not_ return my feelings.

Sasuke cocked a confused brow. What did Ino have to do with Ino's cousin getting sick? I saw the question and the gears turning in his head but I didn't feel like explaining.

"Nevermind, it's not important what he got or how he got it." I drawled, pretending not to feel embarrassed.

"Hn, you make it sound like an STD." He mumbled and I _swear _Sasuke was making it his goal to get hit by me more times than Naruto ever did!

"I already _told you_ it's a stomach flu!" I bit back, pointing at him and losing patience. Sasuke seemed to enjoy seeing me pissed off. I crossed my arms and looked right in his stupid, mysterious eyes that seemed more grey than black today.

"Do you _enjoy _pissing me off?" I asked him, a suspicious lilt to my voice. Because really. I wanted to know.

"Hn. Do you and Kakashi _enjoy_ destroying my stomach with all the drinking you both do with me?" He shot back, childishly.

"Look, your stomach would be fine if you ate less acidic foods… like _tomatoes_. By eating less acid you could enjoy _more _sake. Basic chemistry." I quipped back and poked his rock solid abs to prove a point. He only glared down at me and dropped his arms to his sides. He placed his forearm on top of his counter.

"I'd prefer tomatoes over sake. Tomatoes don't give me headaches in the morning." He argued back, but it wasn't heated, it was half-hearted. He was only responding because again, Sasuke liked to play games, specifically _verbal _games. That was something he definitely retained from spending too much time around Orochimaru. I almost shuddered at the memory of the man. At least Sasuke made verbal games relatively enjoyable…

"Well, it's not my fault you focused more on fighting than healing." I sniffed and stuck my nose in the air. To my surprise Sasuke flicked it! That fucker _flicked my nose! _

"Hey!" So I jumped to swat at his, but he was tall so all he had to do was lean back and dodge and I was unable to avenge my flicked nose. "What the _hell_ was that for!"

"Your overconfidence and overindulgent pride." He smoothly replied.

"Hah! Says the one, Sasuke!" And before I realized it, I was laughing and pulling his bangs instead. I also regretfully realized how warm I was and looked down to find that he was curled backwards over his countertop and I was not exactly being modest, um, with how deeply pressed against him I was. I was suddenly too aware of his solid chest against my breasts and his eyes on my face. Before I could panic I finished tugging his hair and pushed myself back to my side of the counter, suddenly, not very sure of what my friendship with Sasuke exactly was in my own head. I was suddenly _very _afraid of the feelings I used to have for him. Horrified, actually.

I ignored what just happened and acted cool. Because I _would not _under any circumstances let him realize that he flustered me. I crossed my arms and leaned further back, smirking.

"Whatever, Uchiha, I'm a damned good medic…and chemist." I complemented myself because remember, I was pretended to be solid and unruffled. I hoped I was convincing.

He nodded. "They say you surpassed Tsunade." It was just a statement but I blushed because I was _far _from surpassing my shisho, at least in my own opinion.

"That's just talk." I shrugged. Because it probably was. I'd be nothing if it weren't for Tsunade-sama. Nothing. I'd be a scared, useless little girl and worst of all, both Naruto and Sasuke would have left me far behind. I wouldn't have the standing to call them _my_ boys because I'd be so weak.

"You saved Yugao." He pointed out, suddenly.

"I save a lot of people." I shrugged. "Tsunade-sama probably has saved more."

"Mn."

It was quiet and I could hear a clock ticking somewhere, very quietly. Right, it was almost time for my freakout, because my brain was still begging me to analyze the fact that I just had _fun_ with Sasuke… in his _kitchen._

"Anyway, I have to go meet Ino. Here's your ticket." I fished the purple and black pass out of my pocket and handed it to him. He took the paper from me, and brought it closer to read.

"Hofuku." He snorted. "Retribution." He repeated again. And then… I laughed too. Because that was _such_ a fitting name for where I was bringing _him_ of all people. Retribution: A punishment that is considered to be morally right and fully deserved. Yep. Sasuke deserved to be drunk at a club _full _of people for having such a stick up his ass his entire life and being such a jerk to me and Naruto. It was astounding and funny that we were laughing about that in his kitchen… four years after the war and eight years after he left us.

Neji's face suddenly fluttered across my mind at the mention of time and war.

My laughter died and I think Sasuke noticed.

"I'll see you later tonight." I ran my fingers through my loose hair. "Knowing Ino she'll drag me to her place because she still likes to play "dress up" like a little girl. I might as well check up on Suchiru when I'm there, anyway." I shrugged, speaking in a more serious tone because the living needed tending-to so they wouldn't become the dead.

The dead. The blood… the blood all over Neji's body. The gaping hole through his chest... Faces flew by. The last men that I assassinated… all of the children we found that Orochimaru had experimented on… the ones who were forgotten… That mission was the hardest… disposing of those children and hearing their screams because death was all that could save them… Ugh… I felt sick. I swallowed the ball of disgust that was forming in my throat. I realized that I had robotically followed Sasuke the short distance to his door. He was silent and I wondered if he had picked up on my surprisingly dark thoughts. I watched as he opened the door, turned around and fucking _poked_ me in the head with his two fingers! I smacked his hand away and he smirked.

"What was that for?" I glowered. He shrugged.

"Out. I need to go do things now." He commanded, pointing to the open hallway. I pretended to curtsy and mimicked holding a flowing, wide dress out to my sides as I bent my knees with a straight back.

"Yes your glorious Uchiha majesty!" I quipped sarcastically and Sasuke shoved me through his doorway and stepped out into the hall where I had to jump to keep myself from falling.

"Keep shoving. We'll see how far I send _you_ flying when we spar." I smirked. Sasuke shut his door and locked it with his key. Even in the dim light of the hallway I could see his smirk.

"Did you forget who helped win the war?" He queried, feeling entitled.

"Did you forget it wasn't just you?" I asked in a mock-sweet tone, crossing my arms. "If Naruto hadn't been there we'd have all been screwed."

"Ah." He agreed simply.

"Ja-ne, Saske." I shunshinned close to the market because that freak-out was creeping up on me… because Sasuke being different than I expected was _really _creeping up on me. I wasn't expecting him to be civil or even kind… Not so fast… and today he had been… _normal_ like with absolutely _no _sign of the previous insanity that had plagued him that one time we nearly killed each other… None. He was a completely different person. My mind almost disbelieved my conversation with him and told me that that wasn't Sasuke back there, at least, not the Sasuke _I _knew…

What had changed?

And then I realized he had asked that question last night.

But really… just _what_ had changed and _when_? Four years… was four years even long enough for Sasuke to return to normal? Back in his kitchen… did we… did we _finally _fix things? Did Ino maybe use her mind-healing technique on him at some point or something? Because fixing whatever ties we had wasn't a possibility a week ago. What _world_ was I in? Because this one was definitely not mine… Sasuke was a civil human being… that… that fact was_ new_. He had been so hostile the last few times I'd interacted with him that the fact that he may have actually _changed_ throughout these last four years was impossible to believe. However, I had seen the change myself.

Four years… We hadn't even really talked on the battlefield during the war. We hadn't said so much as a single word to each other for _four_ years since the war and all of a sudden because we started living next to each other… _that_ in his kitchen happened? Did he _allow _me into his personal space because maybe there _was_ no more bad history between us anymore? Was there _no_ awkwardness left anymore and I was just over-analyzing and over-thinking things again? Yeah… that had to be it…

Besides, I had put my foot down in his kitchen and became determined to treat him like a _friend_. Like a good friend. Like Naruto… And… and I no longer disliked him… Actually, I felt comfortable thinking about him. Yeah… maybe… maybe just _fuck_ the past. I smiled to myself. I was free. I was _free _of every feeling that had ever chained me down to Sasuke because Sasuke himself had allowed me to transition him into the "friend" category in my mind. Good.

Yes, Sasuke was sexy. He was a man, and a beautiful one at that. But Naruto was really hot too. They had both grown into really good-looking guys. But they were my _teammates_, both of them. And I finally felt like I had them back and viewed them both the way they _should _be viewed after everything that had transpired. I had _both_ of them back again. Without any painful memories.

I flew to the market, intent on looking hot later tonight while drinking my guilt away over Neji and every person I had ever killed or let die in my presence that night. Maybe… maybe it would _actually _be fun and I could laugh at Shikamaru as Temari made him dance with her. I smirked. It _was_ going to be fun. Thank you, Suchiru, because you just indirectly helped fix a part of my broken mind that I didn't think was fixable. I smiled at the sky, thanking kami-sama for somehow putting Suchiru on my path. And on that note I was going to make sure he was doing better tonight; Ino wouldn't stop me from checking on him. No way…

-X-

**READ THIS NOTE BEFORE YOU FLIP OUT! **

Okay, you've gotten this far, congratulations! Now breathe. Inhale… … … okay, exhale. You guys **have **to understand that there is _a lot _of psychology in this chapter, especially where Sakura is concerned. As you can see, her inner is coming back, slowly but surely. Sakura doesn't know how to deal with Sasuke. She doesn't have anyone to talk to about her deepest thoughts about him either because she doesn't feel like burdening anyone, remember? She's very humble and selfless and nearly everyone she knows has found a significant other to lean on. It's clear in cannon that Sakura and Naruto lean on each other for support, _a lot_. Now that Hinata is at Naruto's side, Sakura has technically "lost" her best friend. Ino is a therapist and has her own relationship to take care of. No use in bugging her. Kakashi had found someone to occupy his mind with as well.

In short, Sakura feels _alone_. I tried to subtly insert that while she was searching for people to give the tickets to and realized that most of the people that she thought of would have been bothered by her asking them. I tried to show you guys how isolated she had become since becoming an anbu and leaving on long-term missions in that scene. Sakura is _alone_. Her mother is pregnant, that was mentioned briefly in another chapter. Plus her parents are a little whacked out too, so she couldn't go to them for womanly advice, now could she? She has_ no one _to confide in.

This is also why she is drinking her pain away. Obviously, Neji's death was the first death that affected her in a personal way. Chiyo was the very first death in cannon (only because Haku and Zabuza seemed like they affected Naruto more) that affected her but in my fic I'm also adding in Neji, because he's a symbol of her weakness. She wasn't yet strong enough in that moment to save him. His death haunts her because she prides herself in feeling strong and capable. She's also haunted by all the people she's assassinated as an anbu. Remember, she's being doing long-term missions for a while. Four years of death can really damage a person.

But that brings me to Sasuke.

Four years can really _fix _a person too. Sasuke has been around Naruto for four years. He's had a chance to earn trust and respect and change his way of thinking. He's had time to also go on missions and rebuild bonds as well as suffer the neglect and disgust Naruto once suffered at the hands of the village. He only recently became an anbu and started being away. So, in a sense, Sasuke and Sakura were well on their way to basically switching lives, almost. But, Naruto stepped in because both he and Tsunade were _worried _for Sakura. Even Sasuke realized that she wasn't as happy as she used to be. That upsets him even though he figured that he _shouldn't_ care if she didn't want him or anyone else to care.

This brings me to Naruto.

What a change there! Being around Tsunade for four years has really helped Naruto grow in terms of politics and strategy. I'm sure hanging out with Shikamaru helped as well. So Naruto's also growing, but in a more mental way. At the same time, he's making sure he doesn't lose himself and who he is.

I wanted to write this because I want you guys to get a good perspective on the characters and how they had changed over the years. They're still them, they're just _tweaked _a little because of their _individual _experiences and they _still _have thoughts and ideas that they struggle with in terms of each other. Naruto seems like he's the only one who has a grip on himself lol, but I promise all is not what it seems. I also wanted to put this here in case some of you guys feel like this chapter seemed to rush things a little. I didn't want Sasuke to seem OOC and you guys will see his thoughts on what I'm now going to call "the kitchen incident" in the next chapter… Because I love writing Sasuke. His thought process is much more straightforward than Sakura's at this point.

Again, please remember that Sakura is technically havingpsychological issues that she doesn't know how to deal with, thus the scatter-brained thought stream in the chapters that include her POV.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Yadda yadda. You get it. I make no money. I shouldn't have to say this. If I had money to fight a lawsuit resulting in the improper usage of someone else's shit, I'd just shut my mouth and buy Naruto from Kishimoto, though I doubt he'd willingly sell it off to anyone for any price anyway.

See 'ya later, Space Cowboy!


	8. The List

KISEKI

|8|

Sakura performed a perfect shunshin, leaving me in the hallway to think. My heart was still pounding and I still felt all of the blood rushing around in my body. Earlier, when her fucking boobs were pressed against me I had felt like grabbing her waist and just kissing her, because usually that led to… other things... It was a _stupid _impulse and it was probably because it's been a while since I last got laid. Thank kami-sama for self-control…I ran a shaky hand through my hair.

What the _fuck_ is wrong with me? Well, nothing's wrong with _me_, per se, it's just my stupid body. It wouldn't listen to my brain when it told it that there was _no_ way anything was going to happen between Sakura and I. More importantly, I wasn't going to _let_ anything happen… and if I _did_ I'm pretty sure Sakura would break my face _and_ my dick.

A tiny vain voice in the back of my head whispered_, maybe not… maybe she'd want to…_

Fuck.

I rubbed my scalp where it tingled from where she pulled my hair. The heat and need roiled in my stomach with a vengeance at the memory and I almost slammed the back of my head against my apartment door. From what I could tell Sakura had _no_ inclination to what _almost _happened there. Either she was naïve or she didn't give a damn about me enough to assume I'd be attracted to her. At least I held it together…

…

That brought me to this next thought: If I was reacting to her treating me like an _actual _friend like _this_… how the fuck was I going to handle being around her in a club while _drinking _with her? I shook my head. I _would_ handle it. For _her_ sake. I wasn't going to open closed wounds. A part of my mind _begged _me to, but I promptly told it to shut the _fuck_ up because Sakura wasn't Sakura anymore. There was something _off_ about her and I couldn't place my finger on what was wrong. Something had happened in the last four years that had changed her in a way I didn't think she'd ever change.

I pushed off the wall and decided to go for a walk and clear my head. I needed a nicer shirt to go out in anyway. I have a feeling Sakura would kill me if I walked into _the_ Hofuku club wearing the standard nin outfit I'm in now. Maybe a lighter shirt without a zipper… the pants would stay. I shrugged and took off at a slow pace to the market, hands in my pockets.

When Sakura made the decision to leave go about her day, she said it with a dimmed light in her eyes. There was no other way to describe her face. It was almost as if a darkness or a shadow overcast the cheeriness she displayed before. We had been having fun picking on each other. What ran through her complicated mind that made her miserable so suddenly? Maybe I wasn't one to really talk… maybe it was all the therapy I was forced to go to… but to me, that was a _bad _sign; not the sudden sadness I felt from her, but that _look_ in her eyes. She looked _old_. Different. Not Sakura…

Maybe she was dealing with something in secret? She was definitely repressing _somethi—_

"There you are!"

I looked up at the busy street in response to the voice. Suddenly, I was yanked from the side by my shirt into an alleyway and had my kunai at Ino's throat before I could finish my thought. Ino had her one hand up, the other around the collar of my shirt. She looked slightly frightened. She should be. Had I not seen her blonde hair and scanty purple outfit I would have probably pressed harder into her throat.

I sighed and shot her a glare for being stupid and surprising me, as I slowly and carefully pulled the blade away from her throat. Outside the narrow alley life moved on as usual. Not a single Konoha citizen just realized that Uchiha Sasuke had been _dragged _into an alley by Yamanaka Ino. I stared down at her. What was she doing here of all places?

"You must've been pretty lost in thought huh?" She commented, but shook her head. "Come on, I _just _ditched Sakura. You need to look good tonight." And she started walking.

Wait. What? She moved past me, but I didn't take a single step. If she thought I was going to participate as her male doll she had another thing coming. She stopped at the edge of the alley and glared at me, putting her hands on her hips.

"Okay I know we didn't expect Sakura to ask you to go. I'm _sorry_. But I'm not going to have you go there with her looking like _that_." She pointed at me with a sour look on her face.

What? What was wrong with my clothes? I looked down at the shirt and the pants I was wearing. It was combat gear. If Konoha were attacked right now I was fully loaded and ready to go for a fight.

"No." Ino spoke defiantly, as if she was in my head, reading my mind. "No weapons. No Uchiha crest. No nothing. You're going as a civilian." She bossed and I glared at her.

"No." Anything related to the word "civilian" that was tacked onto me was rejected immediately. I knew who I was. I wasn't going to pretend to be someone else because Ino was enjoying the fact that I would be suffering.

"_Yes_. Because Sakura hasn't had a good time in a while and I'll be _damned _if my best friend makes a mess of herself because _you're _away all night trying to peel girls off of you as they offer to bear your children." She huffed and I realized that she _actually _had a point. The Uchiha crest had been a target for women looking to put power into their families…_and _money. That was why I was so careful when I fucked. Also, we were in fire country. Most women here knew the story behind my name and the fact that I was absolved of my crimes and wondered when I'd start making babies. They'd probably kill to become the new Uchiha matriarch and what was worse was that I didn't have it in me to _not_ provide for someone who was depending on me. How many princesses had I escorted through the countries in secret over the last four years? How many letters did I get from their fathers asking me to marry their daughters so I could put more money behind my name? I rolled my eyes and followed her out of the alley. I wasn't going to deal with that tonight. I had a good, old-fashioned drinking contest to win.

"And is there _anything _we can do about your chicken-assed hair?" Ino whined as I gritted my teeth next to her.

"No." I growled, because my hair won't stay down. Period. Trust me, I've been trying since I was six. The only time it ever looked like something other than a chicken's ass was when I missed a few haircuts when I was three because Shisui-nii convinced me that ninjas needed haircuts to teach them about pain. When I asked how cutting hair had anything to do with learning about pain, he said that every hair hurt when it got cut, just like when you cut your fingers. The douchebag would have gotten along with Naruto perfectly.

I was terrified of scissors that _entire_ year. Itachi had to sit me down when I was four, explain to me that Shisui had played a joke and promised me that he of all people would never hurt me. After a lot of coaxing and reassuring, he had been the first person to put scissors near my head in an entire year. I think I remember my father actually _smiling_ because I didn't look like a little girl anymore. I smirked at the memory.

"Well whatever it'll have to do. Maybe we can gel it." She led me to some upscale men's outfitters store and I rolled my eyes again. Gel wouldn't help it. It was a lost cause. Why were we playing "dress-up with Sasuke" again? I could suddenly see why Sakura wasn't looking forward to buying an outfit with Ino.

"Gel won't help it." I said once we were inside. I looked around. "That shirt and those pants. Let's go." I pointed vaguely at some folded clothes here and there and Ino swiftly turned around and glared at me and my efforts to cut this trip short. Apparently I pissed her off.

"No. You're going to wear what _I _say you're going to wear because _you're _my _best friend's _date! I will _not _let your 'whatever' attitude ruin her night."

I wondered why what I wore tonight mattered in the first place? It's not like Sakura would be looking at _me_. She wasn't interested. I noticed that Ino disappeared somewhere further into the store. I heard a snicker and turned to find a civilian man looking browsing through some folded shirts.

"Your girlfriend has one hell of a best friend." The man, middle-aged, tall with sandy, long hair and brown eyes commented.

"I don't have a girlfriend." I commented flatly. "I just have insane comrades." Because that was the truth. Really, sometimes I wondered if the people around me were any les insane than I was. Ino definitely needed therapy for her obsession with other people and their lives… and I didn't know about Sakura yet, because she wasn't open about it, but Sakura was going to need therapy for something sometime soon too. Kakashi needed therapy because everyone he ever loved had died as well, and from what I understood, Sai didn't have emotions until four years ago. We were all insane. I think Naruto was the only one out of all of us that was sane.

"Ah, so you're trying to make that girl's best friend your girlfriend." He sounded like he thought he hit the nail on the head. I shook my head.

"No. I'm just doing a favor for a sick friend." I resisted the urge to smirk. Yamanaka was probably shitting his pants in his bed right now.

His eyes focused on the tiny Uchiha crest on one of my black wrist warmers, then jumped up to study my brother's necklace around my neck. He knew I was a shinobi and knew that I knew he was scrutinizing me. I kind of didn't care because we were in a store, I had nothing better to do and I was used to being analyzed by everyone older than me.

"Ah, you're that Uchiha kid, aren't you?" No shit. The Uchiha crest wasn't a dead giveaway? The man looked me up and down. "Well, you're not exactly a kid anymore, but you're still a kid to me. Wanna know how to make a woman happy? It's simple, really." He meant no perversions by his statement, but I wasn't interested in the secrets of life right now.

"No." I denied.

"You do." He argued calmly. From the corner of my left eye I saw Ino flitting about the store like she owned it and I rolled my eyes. Well, it's not like following her around was any more interesting…

"Fine." I walked closer to him because nowI had agreed to have a _discussion_ and it was rude to stand too far away from someone who was trying to talk with you. I stood with my arms at my sides, like I would in front of any sensei. Apparently this man had wisdom to pass on and had chosen me to be the one who heard it.

"Is the girl a kunoichi?" He suddenly asked. I narrowed my eyes at him. He was supposed to impart wisdom on me, not inquire about Sakura.

"Wow, that's a hostile look." He commented with a surprised whistle. He was wearing clothing similar to what was in this store. For a middle aged man he was decently in shape. Maybe he had been a shinobi at some point? Whatever. He was wearing dark grey slacks, strange, close-toed shoes I had never seen before except maybe on the island of the Crescent Moon, and a crisp, high-end, black, button-up with a nice collar and a shocking cerulean blue tie that reminded me of Naruto's eyes.

"You wanted to give me advice, not ask about the woman I'll be seeing tonight." I reminded him.

"Humor me anyway. Is she a kunoichi?" He asked again.

I analyzed him. He seemed to analyze me right back. There was _that_ look. He had been a shinobi once. Long, _long_ ago. Had the third Great War traumatized him in some way that made him quit? He gave me an encouraging smile. Yes. Definitely. He cared way too much to kill. Out of pity, I _did_ humor him.

"She is a _shinobi_." Because Sakura wasn't just a kunoichi. She wasn't anything like Ino or Ten-Ten or Hinata or the countless other kunoichi I've had the annoyance of working with. She was entirely something else. She had brains, braun, sex appeal, _and _wit. She could heal and she could destroy. I had seen her do it all the last time I had seen her fight. She held the title of anbu, so I was certain she was still as skilled as I remember, if not even _more _so. I surprised myself with that train of thought… I still remembered when I viewed her as someone that was only good for standing around and pretending to be threatening. In all honesty when she was younger she didn't really _deserve _to call herself a ninja. She was an analyst at best. A ninja on paper at most, but today I'm glad she stayed in the field. She had saved my brother. She had fought hard. She had changed in good ways as well as bad. She was my _teammate_ and recently, I felt she'd make a trustworthy comrade. I'd trust having her watching my back. I suspected that trust would grow after we sparred the day after tomorrow. 

"A _shinobi_ you say?" He caught on to what I meant. Smart man. I wonder if he's from any prominent clan. If I were to guess I would say maybe Nara or Sarutobi if only for his hair and eye color.

"Ah, a shinobi." I confirmed with a smirk. I hadn't initially liked him, but he was starting to grow on me. He treated me like an old friend instead of a new one.

"Must be one hell of a woman. You should make her feel like one." He arranged some shirts as he confused me. He must work here, but anyway…

What the _fuck_ was that supposed to even mean? That was like telling me to make a dog feel like a dog, or a bird like a bird. They were dogs and birds. They should feel like dogs and birds already, no? It's not like a hawk felt like a pigeon on some days and like a cat on others...

I must have let my expression slip because the man laughed.

"Listen, kid. Women who have the honor of calling themselves shinobi don't often feel like women at all. Remind her that she is still delicate and can lean on you in moments of weakness." He spoke with a secretive wink, much like Ino did when she had something helpful to say for once.

I contemplated his words. They were simple but when you thought about them, brilliant. A woman who had to fight like a man must feel masculine and attraction was biologically based on gender roles. _Biologically_. It was what attracted women to men and men to women. A woman would logically be attracted to a man who was stronger than her and could defend her and her young and a man would be attracted to a woman who could properly raise his young, a woman he could come home to and trust that his offspring was fed and that his lineage would continue. Of course there were hundreds of other factors like scent and hair color and what sex you were actually attracted to in many cases and whatever, but basically that was what it was at its core. Women liked men who could make them _feel _feminine. But I wasn't going on a "date", per se, and I wasn't trying to attract anyone so he was wrong to assume I should show off how masculine I was, especially to Sakura. The guy had the wrong idea. Great advice, but definitely the wrong person to give it to.

"I'll make sure to tell the next guy that dates her." I spoke factually.

"Ah, _if_ there's a 'next guy that dates her'. I have a feeling you might not let it come to that." He bowed as I contemplated how much gall he had to have to say that to me, and turned around to disappear into a back room. So he _did_ work here. Interesting…

"There you are. You only moved two feet from where I last left you? I expected you to have at least three shirts ready, Sasuke-kun." If Ino wasn't a friend, I'd punch her. As I turned around to face her, my eyes widened at the heap of clothes she had in both of her arms. There was a pile of pants stacked five squares high on her left arm, and a pile of shirts also stacked five squares high on her right arm. No way was I trying on five outfits, because really, did you honestly think bossy Ino would let me leave without trying clothes on? No. I knew what was going to happen when I agreed to leave that alley with her, but still, I was _not_ going to try on _five_ different outfits.

Remember that bit about being masculine? Shopping factored into that. Men shopped differently than women. We weren't attracted by stupid shit like shine, cut, fabric, or color. If it were me by myself I would have picked a shirt, found the right size and just trusted it to fit when I got home. Done. And when I got home it would fit perfectly because men didn't come in a thousand different shapes. You were either fit, or fat or something in between. Regardless of how much you did or didn't stick out in this or that place you were still shaped like an inverted triangle so all the clothes were cut relatively the same way. It was the measurements that mattered and if you knew your measurements then trying on clothes didn't matter.

But again, I agreed to go to this store with Ino. So I'd try on clothes to double check, but I wasn't going to try on five shirts and five pants. Hell no.

"Narrow it down to two outfits and I'll pick whichever one I like best. I'm not going to waste time." I spoke with a tone of finality and she frowned but didn't look like she was going to argue much.

She tsked and looked offended. "You have 'till like ten!" She pointed out. Leave it to Ino to keep trying. She was almost as bad as Naruto.

"I still have to eat." Because I wasn't going to go drink on an empty stomach tonight. _That_ was a bad idea. Drinking reminded me of Sakura, whether or not that was a good or bad thing, and I had to ask… "Where's Sakura? She told me you'd drag her to your house to play dress-up." Because if what was _supposed _to happen after they shopped, happened, then I wouldn't be here suffering Ino's wrath. Ino smirked.

"I sent her home because Suchiru looks like he's plotting something. I didn't want her to get any funny ideas about talking to him." Ino explained. I see… that was smart. If Yamanaka was out of Sakura's sight, then he was out of her mind.

"You haven't explicitly called him out on his games?" I queried next, because it would be weird of her if she didn't. Ino had the type of loud personality that would get in someone's face if they tried to hurt someone close to her. To my surprise, however she shook her head.

"Clan politics." She shrugged. "I'm technically the clan head. I'll lose the support of my family if I start fights with a distant cousin over Sakura. I have to look out for myself too ya know." She chastised.

I nodded because I knew what that was like. Clan politics were taught to children of prominent clans from a young age. They were taught to both me and Itachi when we were old enough to speak and understand. Leading was something we were born and bred to do and Ino was right in every way by not directly confronting Suchiru about his personal business. It would literally cause _bad blood_ between them. I watched as she pulled out two pairs of pants and two shirts.

"Go try them on. These go with this and these go with that." She separated the two outfits, piled them on top of each other and pointed to the fitting room. I sighed, knowing this was completely unnecessary, but went in anyway.

I decided on picking a black, collared tee made of high-end fabrics with a pair of grey pants made from some new material I wasn't familiar with. The other outfit's shirt was red and the pants were a bit too tight. Red was Sakura's color and I liked to have something that I could move in so I forgoed the second outfit. Black and grey was my color scheme anyway. I put my nin clothes back on and stepped out with the first outfit under my arm and the second one in my hand. I handed the second outfit to Ino who smiled and held up a strange pair of dark blue high-topped, close-toed shoes.

"Good; you picked the jeans and the polo." She commented cheerfully.

Was that what they were called? I looked idly at the outfit under my arms. Which one was jeans? Which one was "polo"? Was "polo" the weird fabric that the pants were made of? I looked at Ino, confused. She shook her head, ponytail swishing, and laughed.

"Nevermind it's popular in all the civilian magazines. These shoes will match it. You're a twelve in shoe size right?" She asked and I nodded. "Good. Go buy all this, oh! And take this!" She handed me a leather belt with a square, silver buckle. I hated belts and frowned at it. She shoved it further into my hands and I understood. I had no say in this. _Fine_. Ino was like an aggravating younger sibling. Was I _this_ annoying to Itachi when I was little? I briefly remembered forcing him to eat tomatoes with me when I was younger and frowned. He had always just smiled, even though he didn't like tomatoes. They were always too acidic for his stomach. He liked onigiri the best. I smiled… maybe I'll go have some onigiri after this… If I remember correctly, Itachi's favorites were the ones with salmon inside.

"Thank you for your business Uchiha-sama!" I didn't even realize that I had paid and that the cashier was a middle-aged woman with carrot-colored hair tied in a sleek bun and honey eyes. She had a ring on her ring finger and if I remember correctly the former shinobi who had given me advice earlier had a ring on his finger too. Aha… they were married. I smirked at her and bowed as I took my change and the bag she held out to me. "Uchiha-sama" was a new phrase to hear. I didn't know if I liked the way it sounded, but it reminded me of the times civilians addressed my father. I noticed Ino was smirking at me at the entrance to the store. I walked out with her in tow.

"All right _Uchiha-sama_. I'm done torturing you, but before you go, make sure you don't forget about our deal. You have to take Sakura out on a date." She reminded in her bossy tone.

"I already have a date planned with her." I shrugged as we stopped just outside the store.

Ino's teal eyes were saucers but she recovered from her shock quickly enough.

"Heh, you move fast, Sasuke-kun. Where are you guys going?" She asked curiously.

I smirked evilly and Ino's face fell.

"I'm taking her to Choji's family restaurant to feed her spicy food." I responded as if it was the best form of torture in the world.

Ino gaped at me.

"Sakura _hates_ spicy food!" Ino shrieked to the point where some curious civilians turned their heads towards us briefly. I ignored them.

"And I hate being drunk at clubs. So that makes me even with both you and her. You have your machinations fulfilled, she has her fun tonight and I have my revenge for tonight." I shrugged. It was as simple as that. After Ino recovered from her shock she shook her head.

"There are no words to describe your kind, Sasuke-kun." She chastised but smiled anyway. I wasn't sure if that was supposed to be a complement or an insult. "All right. I'm gonna go make sure Suchiru is taking care of himself. Have fun and if you ever feel like talking…" She trailed off, waved and turned around after I nodded, because we both knew I was going to be going to her from now on when I needed an unbiased opinion. Ino had only been my therapist for a short time, but she was damn good at her job. It helped that she had been around me when we were younger. I had an easier time talking with her than the other strangers I had to _force _myself to communicate with about personal things in order to pass the tests they were giving me. When they started asking emotional questions about my personal feelings on this matter or that I had just shut down because they were strangers and they didn't deserve to know that I missed my big brother.

It was then that Ino was brought in. Knowing her helped me respond properly and honestly and as a result the psych evaluations eventually became more than good enough for me to be reinstated as a Konoha shinobi, even though Ino had pushed me too far and I had blown up on her as a result two or three times during the process. I watched her retreating back for a few seconds more before I went my own way, back to the apartment complex.

On my way there, I stopped at my brother's grave and spent a good hour talking to him. The tiger-lillies Sakura had left there the other day were still beautiful. After that detour, when I came home I had the honor of listening to Sakura's blow drier for about half an hour while I tried meditating. I showered, towel-dried my hair and dressed in the clothes Ino practically forced me to buy. I fished out a pair of socks from my dresser that I never really ever wore but had just in case, and practiced walking around in the strange, blue shoes Ino had, again, _forced_ me to buy. They felt constricting and made it difficult to channel chakra to the bottom of my feet. Even more annoying were the rubber soles. Your chakra needed to be at a certain _frequency_ to bleed through them to the floor below. Eventually I managed to stick my foot to the floor, with a little bit of an adjustment to my chakra. I practiced walking up my wall. After taking three steps up, I fell and hit my head on the floor, _hard_. I got pissed and tried again. A half hour later I managed to walk up my wall. I was bored because it wasn't ten yet, it was only 9:45, so I hung from my ceiling for a while in these weird shoes, looking at my apartment, up-side down. I bent over once the blood rushed to my head too much and crawled over the ceiling. Ew. The tops of my cabinets in the kitchen needed dusting. I'd have to do that later. Eventually, I killed a spider and stood straight again. I walked across the ceiling once more and stopped just above my black leather couch in the living room. I released the chakra at my feet, flipped and landed in a relaxed position on the couch. I decided to eat some leftovers from earlier this afternoon because again, I was _not_ going to drink on an empty stomach. So I sat up, lifted myself off of the couch, grabbed the plastic container from inside my small refrigerator and stuck the food in the tiny microwave on my counter. I re-heated, ate, went to brush my teeth and just like that, there was a knock on my door at ten-thirty.

I opened my door… and there stood Sakura. I didn't know which of us I wanted to kill first, because she was _not_ going to make the night easy for me… That had to be the sexiest dress I had ever seen on _anyone_ and I have seen some _sexy_ women.

"Yo." Good. My voice came out cool, calm and unfazed.

"Let's go, we're already supposed to be at the gates." She grumbled almost under her breath. I found it funny how we both decided that we'd go together when she was ready without even speaking or seeing each other. I nodded in response to her because I didn't trust my mouth to say anything else smart. I locked my apartment behind me and strode down the hallway.

Click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click—_clack_

"Sasuke, slow down! Jashin, damn it!" She cursed.

I stopped halfway down the hall. She hadn't gotten very far past my door. I cocked a brow. She was glaring at her feet. I checked her legs out…slowly, from top to bottom… and found that she was pissed about her shoes. She had sky-high heels on and I wasn't surprised she couldn't walk at a regular pace in them. I smirked. You could dress Sakura up as a model, but you could never make her _act _like a model. I walked back towards her.

"What now?" I asked. Because I sure as hell wasn't going to carry her. The last thing I needed was my wood showing through these pants. I'd never live that down because that fucking Nara would be the first to notice and her legs, around my waist would definitely make me hard.

"Ugh hang on. I'll just…" She wasn't focusing on me anymore. She was fishing through the tiny white and red purse(? was it considered a purse?) she was holding onto. She was a bit taller in her shoes but I could still see far enough down her dress from above. I briefly looked away. Fuck. I _couldn't _look away. I was a shinobi, so I was adept at noticing details. Sakura's dress was white with a red lace pattern over it. It only covered about half of her thighs and dipped _just_ low enough in the front to see some of her cleavage. It was skin tight and for some reason my mind instantly deduced that she was not wearing anything else under it. Then again, the fabric was somewhat thick so I could be wrong. Regardless it was this sexy and _just_ barely revealing her goods on _purpose_.

It actually took me an entire two minutes to realize she had her hair clipped up in a twist with a white hair pin accented with red flowers. Something looked different about her face but I couldn't tell what it was. Thicker-looking lashes maybe? Hell if I know. I'm too busy staring at her legs… and her ass… and every other part of her I wish I could see…

I swallowed hard. And looked away as I heard something "poof" and then "poof" again. Oh. Sakura had come prepared. She had sealed her heels into a piece of paper, and stored them in her square purse thing and slipped on a pair of flat, red shoes. Out of her heels she was shorter but her legs looked no less appetizing. She was toned and strong. Nothing like the civilian girls I was used to. She was lithe and I could tell she was an efficient killer. That fact only turned me on more about her. Remember that thing I said about danger and liking it? Yes, this entire situation was dangerous, but I really, _really _liked it. This was becoming unhealthy… I would have some serious blue balls later if I kept focusing on thoughts like this.

"Fucking Ino and her fucking heels." Sakura grumbled. She smelled expensive. And I realized she must have blown a lot of money tonight on her jewelry. She had dangling earrings. They were simple and long but they were made with _real_ rubies. You didn't need a sharingan to be able to tell that those weren't fake… She also had on a single, fat bracelet that I could tell was made of real bone. Red designs were carved and painted into it. Fucking Ino… making Sakura more attractive than I already thought she was.

If I managed to somehow get drunk tonight I don't think I could keep my stupid mouth shut… Every alarm I had was going off in my head as my heart pounded out of pure nervousness. Tonight… _might_ not end well if she looks _that_ appetizing… My only conclusion was that I couldn't drink with her… there was just no way I could. If I drank enough tonight there was little to stop me from flirting with her and it would be completely unintentional. And she would end up crying, call me an asshole and tell me I was too late and that she hated me for leaving her on a bench. I hated me for leaving her on a bench.

Maybe if I constantly repeated "don't fuck up" like a mantra _before_ I drank, I'd remember not to fuck up _while _I drank. Should I just pretend to be sick? No that won't work she's a fucking doctor. Are we walking already? Oh right I was following her down the hall before I caught up to her just a few minutes ago. We were now outside. When did we get outside and how had we climbed down all those steps already? Focus, Sasuke. Focus. Shit. Should I just go back home? My eyes shot a weary glance at the apartment building as we stepped outside into the warm, summer night. But she looked so damn _good_. What if something happened to her at the club?

"Sasuke?"

What?

"Mn?" I asked. She was cocking a pink brow, an expectant look on her face. Shit. She had said something. I was too busy thinking to notice.

"I said that you look nice." She repeated.

"Ah. You too." I replied quietly. Because when all else fails just shut your mouth and be quiet. Just shut up, Sasuke. Don't talk.

"Thanks. I don't know how I'm going to dance in those heels." She laughed. And I glowered at the ground beneath my feet. If she put those shoes back on someone else would stare at her legs because they'd look even _sexier_. And I'd probably trip the asshole to see him fall on his face just because. Great. Now I was simulating fake situations in my mind.

Get a _grip_, Sasuke…

Sakura was quiet. That was weird. I wished she would talk so I could ignore her. There was an odd tension between us for some reason that I sensed but couldn't speak about with her. We were walking with a decent amount of space between us as well. It felt like we were two tornadoes. If we touched something devastating and serious would happen… or is that just how _I _feel? Maybe _I _need to relax? I felt tense and on edge and I realized it was because I was so fucking _turned on _by Sakura. That was wrong. Friend. Teammate. Sex wrong with friend-teammate. I felt like smacking my palm against the center of my face. My body didn't get it.

Fine. I'd just have to think about something depressing to give it the message.

I thought about how I almost died in the war. I thought about my family dying. I thought about all the sick experiments Orochimaru did and the sick things he made me ingest. I thought about how kabuto disappeared and no one knows where he is. I thought about how Orochimaru was out there… I thought about… I thought about that night I left, for some reason. All the memories brought me right back around to that night. That was a difficult night. How did Sakura know I would leave then? _At that exact time_. Was it instinct?

"_To me, you leaving is like being alone!" _

"_I love you!" _

"…_Then take me with you!" _

Her voice echoed in my mind. I shuddered. Thank kami-sama I left her behind, where she was _safe_. Orochimaru would have done sick things to her too.

"_Ah, so you've brought a test subject with you… wonderful Sasuke-kun."_ He would say something along those lines. That night…. Sakura probably didn't know it, but I actually felt _bad_ for what I was going to do. I knew how dependent she was on me and Naruto. The only comfort I had was that Naruto would be there for her and she'd be there for him. They'd be _fine_ without me. And they were, of course. They had each other. Maybe me leaving was even _better _for them because it motivated them to fuck me up and bring me home and in order to do that they'd have to become freakishly powerful.

Anyway, I listened to every word she said that night. I knew I had a hard life ahead of me. Back then the plan was simple and straight forward. I was thinking of deserting Konoha, killing Orochimaru when I was done using him and then afterwards killing my brother and coming back home. I didn't do anything _against _Konoha that entire time and I didn't plan on it. But things had changed and _drastically_. Somewhere along the way between all of the suffering and loneliness _everything _changed.

But it didn't make me any less grateful that Sakura loved me regardless of how fucked up I was towards her. That was what was defined as 'unconditional love'. That was something you didn't get from anyone but your family and it had been a long time since anyone had told me they were there for me if I needed them. Actually, if I were to be completely honest, no one had _ever _said anything remotely similar to that since the clan was massacred. I didn't return her feelings, but for her feelings towards me, I thanked her. I wanted that "thank you" to be the last thing she remembered me saying so there wouldn't be any hard feelings when I came back, but _damn _those two, they caught up to me along the way anyway.

And then I had found out the truth and allowed myself to be manipulated. If it weren't for finding Itachi in the woods that day we stopped the Edo Tensei… Who knows? I don't know where I'd be. Regardless, I found it funny how I've been back for four years and Sakura never asked me why I thanked her that night. She never brought up that night despite how important it really is. I wanted to bring it up, because I was curious, but I wouldn't because I knew it was still a sore spot for her. I wanted to apologize to her but I didn't know how or where to begin but at that night. I had done a lot over the years to hurt her, actually... even _before _that night.

I ignored her when we were kids.

I ignored her in the academy.

I was pissed at her for being a bitch to Naruto and so I said things to hurt her.

I ignored her when we were teammates.

I treated her like a girl that needed to be protected when she really just needed to learn how to stand on her own two feet.

I denied her every time she wanted to get to know me better. It would have helped the team instead.

I told her she could never understand, when really, maybe she could.

I was cold to her when she was kind to me.

I denied every offer of comfort she sent my way.

I denied her every time she asked to train, when really it would have helped her, me and Naruto in the end.

I resented her for jumping in front of me and saving me when we fought Gaara.

I never thanked her, not even once. Ever. Not throughout our entire young lives. Not until the night I left.

I never praised her for her intelligence. It had saved both Naruto and I several times. But she didn't get a single complement, whereas it would have mattered to her the most if I had just offered her a few kind words instead of leaving Naruto to that task.

"_Wow, Sakura-chan! That's really smart!" _

"_Thanks Naruto."_

I ignored her when she was there for me at the hospital the day after my brother nearly destroyed my mind.

I smacked away the apples that she had worked hard to peel for _me_ right out of her hands. _That_ was fucked up. My mother would have rolled in her grave seeing that kind of behavior from me towards a _girl_; a _scared _girl that was _worried_ about the boy she loved_. _

I'm not even done with this list. It goes on. It gets heavier and darker.

I almost killed Naruto in front of her when we fought on the roof of the hospital. I almost killed_ her_ that same moment and almost made Naruto kill her too, because she had thrown herself in front of us, knowing what that kind of power would do to me, him, and everyone else in the hospital if those two attacks connected. Thank kami-sama for Kakashi.

Oh. Let's backtrack into the forest of death during the chunin exam. I traumatized her, broke a guy's arms in front of her, and told her to shut up about my curse mark when it was obviously weighing on her conscience, worrying her. I also let her get beat up because I was too busy being unconscious.

I missed her match against Ino. In retrospect, it was important to her, so it should have mattered to me as her teammate but I wasn't _there_. If I was, I wouldn't have congratulated her anyway, even if the match wasn't declared a tie and she had won.

I left her after she told me she loved me almost more than she loved herself. I pissed all over her devotion and every word she said to me the night I left. I made her cry and I made her dishonor herself by _begging _me to stay. No girl should _ever_ be put in that position.

I didn't acknowledge her when she busted into Orochimaru's underground base. I had been falsely angry with_ her _and treated her coldly because I was pissed that they found a replacement for me. I was pissed that _she_ replaced me even though she was _right there_. I made her feel like she didn't exist that day. She tried to ignore that feeling, but it was _there_. I saw it in her eyes: _Sasuke-kun doesn't even care_.

Then… I had demanded that she kill Karin, knowing full well she had become a healer, a medic: someone who gives life, not takes it. I had played games with her, despite knowing she was there to assassinate me.

I had almost put a hole through her back with my raiton. Back then… I was going to rip her heart out through her back. That was the image I had for her in my mind: Sakura, with her hearting beating its last in my bloodiedhand. Dead. Again, thank _kami-sama_ for Kakashi.

Later that same day I had grabbed her by her throat. I had almost stabbed her with a poisoned kunai. No woman, shinobi or not, should be grabbed by the throat and nearly stabbed by a man she _still _loved. That was _wrong_.

With my actions I pushed her into thinking she had the responsibility of killing me off in the first place, not for anyone else's sake but my own. She was willing to be hated forever by Naruto so she could kill me and save me from myself.

I'm not surprised she wasn't the one to heal me on the battlefield and bring me back from the edge of death. I'm not surprised she rushed to help Naruto instead. Maybe after that day that I almost killed her she began to stop feeling the same way for me. Maybe that's when she got over me: when I basically shoved it in her face that her life meant nothing to me… her _life_. Not just her, but her _life. _A person could go on knowing they didn't mean anything to someone they loved. But knowing that their _life_ didn't matter to the person they loved… that was low… Maybe she had realized she was worth more than that kind of treatment after that.

Actually… when you look at the big picture and how much of a piece of shit I was to her our _entire_ lives, not counting these last two or three days… I didn't deserve to be here, walking next to her. Actually, scratch that. I was _still_ being a piece of shit to her… It's just that this last week I've been a _secret_ piece of shit to her. She liked a guy who I poisoned with the stomach flu with the aid of her best friend (that sounded sociopathic, even to me). She should be having _fun _with that guy… even _if_ he was a piece of shit too, instead of being here with me, walking in silence and tension.

Yamanaka was a piece of shit. He was a womanizing asshole. But he had never tried to _kill_ Sakura and it would never cross his mind to do that, but her death by my hands had crossed _mine _at some point. If you looked at things logically and clearly, it didn't _matter_ how much I had changed. It didn't _matter _that I had friends and that some people had realized I had changed for the better and respected me for it. None of it mattered because none of it changed what I had already _done_ to this woman in the past. I suddenly stopped just a few blocks away from the gate. Why was she my friend? What was wrong with her? Why hasn't she punched me yet for all of that? Why is she still even _speaking _to me and being _civil_ with me…?

Simple. Sakura is just a much better person at heart than I am.

"Sasuke?" She looked so fucking beautiful and she deserved to be laughing even if it was with a guy who's going to cheat on her. She didn't deserve to be here in silence and stress with _me_ after all I'd done to her because _I _thought changing would somehow redeem everything I did.

"I should go home." I looked her square in her jade eyes because now I was serious _and_ depressed. Because I had realized just how _shitty_ I had been to her. I had been shitty to Naruto, but I had been _vicious_ to her. Naruto could handle my bullshit. Sakura couldn't because she had always been more emotionally invested in me than Naruto. She was also intelligent. Every cold and harsh word I spoke was interpreted _with intelligence_. Naruto was stubborn, stupid and optimistic. My words didn't affect his emotions or his mind as much as they did Sakura's.

"What?" She was looking at me like I was speaking a different language, a genuinely confused look on her pretty face. I picked up her slightly cool hand. Her skin was soft, but her fingers were calloused. I crushed my pass into her palm and curled her fingers around it. Her eyes narrowed.

"I'm sorry Sakura." She had no idea how much I meant those words…

Dropping her hand was a bad idea… or a good one. I don't know because maybe I deserved what happened next.

*Smack!* Lightning-fast, she slapped me right across the face with her other hand. The sound echoed off of the tree trunks lining the dirty road. If I expected it, I had _let_ her do it. My head snapped to the side so fast I felt my neck crack. For a moment, I thought she actually broke my neck. My face felt hot on that side and my skin was stinging. I thought I was bleeding. No one was skilled enough to hurt my face and even though I had already started shaving, the skin there was still soft; sensitive, even. It _hurt_ but I wasn't upset, because I had deserved it… because I was the piece of shit that rained on her _entire_ life for my own, stupid, selfish reasons that weren't good enough to warrant such abhorrent behavior in the first place.

"Don't be an asshole, Sasuke." She said softly, too softly. She sounded fragile. I recovered from the blow and looked at her, dumbfounded. Wait, was it _worse_ that I decided to ditch her? Was I just adding another fucked up thing to my list of "Fucked up Things I've done to Sakura"? She pressed the pass back to my chest and I could only look at her. Her eyes were slightly watery. Was she going to cry?

Just what the _hell_ did I do?

"Nevermind. I shouldn't have forced you. It was stupid to ask you anyway. I'm sorry for asking and I'm sorry for hitting you." Her words were stiff; they were the right words to say in this scenario but I knew her mind was saying something else; I just didn't know what. Her eyes were cold. They were like steel. She had the expression of an anbu, which was no readily apparent expression at all. Her face was a stone mask. I realized she would never open herself up enough to cry in front of me again. You allowed yourself to cry in front of your precious people. To her, I wasn't in that category anymore and I didn't blame her. I couldn't cry in front of me either if I were in her shoes.

She let the ticket flutter off of my shirt and to the ground as she slipped her delicate hand off of my chest and walked ahead of me, intent on continuing without me, despite not wanting to.

Then something… fucking _snapped_ inside my mind. I swear I almost heard the sound of it in my ears. I grabbed her by her wrist above her white bracelet just before she was out of my reach. I think I grabbed her too hard because her entire body stiffened, ready to fight me if necessary. My face felt fucking swollen but I ignored it. Where do I begin? How do I stop this screw-up from getting worse?

"It wasn't stupid to ask me to go with you. Don't apologize for anything." Okay. What now? What fucking now? Say something… What do I say?

"Pick a decision Sasuke. What the fuck is wrong with you?" She turned around and now she was glaring at me. Yeah, I was being flaky but again, _what do I say_? Should I tell her that I screwed over her potential boyfriend? Should I apologize afterwards for doing that and then begin apologizing for every single thing on the "Fucked up Things I've Done to Sakura" list? How do I even play this off?

Then the lies tumbled from my mouth with practiced ease. I was used to lying and lying well. It was comfortable to lie because I was actually _afraid_ of telling her my thoughts. I was afraid of what that kind of negativity would do to… whatever the fuck this was between us. What do you even call it? A fragile friendship? Because that's what it felt like to me.

"I hate people. We have to drink a lot tonight to compensate for that."

I didn't hate people and I didn't want to drink a lot to compensate for that. Fuck it. It was already out of my mouth. She cocked an eyebrow, probably debating on whether or not she should go along with my bullshit. Did she even know it was bullshit?

"You mean to tell me you hate clubs so much that you'd _actually _ditch me to be Shikamaru and Temari's third fucking wheel, Sasuke?" No she had no idea it was bullshit. She was genuinely mad.

I lied to Sakura; another awful thing to add onto the list. Regardless, I nodded and shrugged dumbly because if I opened my mouth another stupid fucking sentence would come out. Then she fucking _laughed._

"You're an idiot. Pick up your stupid dirty pass and come on. I can almost see them at the gate and we still have a forty-five minute walk before we actually get to the place." She shook her head, wiggled her tiny wrist out of my loosened grip and continued walking. I stared at the purple and black pass on the floor…

Well… that went well?

I picked it up and dusted it off. Whatever. I had to stop being an asshole. I was already her friend; I may as well start compensating her for everything I'd done to her. Starting now. Right fucking now, actually. I followed her until I caught up and she stopped me, placing a hand on my wrist.

"Stop for a second." She commanded.

I stopped right there without hesitation. I looked at her, and then I couldn't _stop_ looking at her, _everywhere_. My eyes tried to drink in _every _bit of her when she spoke to me. What the _fuck_ was she doing to my mind? She lifted her hand and touched my stinging cheek. I winced, because my face still hurt. _Kami-sama_ she could hit hard. I felt bad for Naruto because he had gotten hit by her way more often than I did. No wonder it never affected him much when I punched him during our sparing sessions. I felt her chakra flicker to life and I reacted. I tensed, because having chakra so close to my face was never a good thing. It was just a reflex, but she rolled her eyes.

"Relax, Sasuke, I won't mess up your award-winning looks." She then smirked. I couldn't even respond. Nothing smart-assed came out of my mouth. I just tried to relax as she healed my face. I felt like putting my hand on top of hers. Why? Who the hell knows? I don't know why. If you know, you can tell me when you figure it out, but right now, I don't know. All I know is that I wanted to make it all up to her.

I made it all up to Naruto. I made it all up to Kakashi. I made it all up to the Hokage. I made it all up to my brother because I'm sure by now he knows I have the life he wanted for me. But I hadn't made it up to Sakura; the one person who I had probably burnt the most next to Itachi. I was actually _motivated _to _not_ be an asshole to her anymore. So I let her do as she pleased. I let her heal my face because _she_ wanted to. I stopped being selfish. If it were up to me, I'd have let myself suffer because I deserved that smack, but Sakura was forgiving and Sakura was selfless so I just let her be herself for once and didn't give her any problems for it.

"I don't want Shikamaru thinking I slapped you because you said or did something perverted." She explained with that same smirk on her face. Even now she was healing me not only to relieve the pain, but so that people wouldn't also get the wrong idea about me. She was always so selfless no matter how much shit people put her through. She was done a few seconds later and I just silently walked alongside her, feeling marginally better than before now that I had cleared my head. I felt better now that I had a new perspective, regarding Sakura. I didn't feel like we were in limbo anymore. I knew what I had to do.

There was no greater comfort than that found in clarity and assurance.

-X-

AWWWWWWWWWW! Sasuke's such a fucking drama king. But he wouldn't be Sasuke if he wasn't. And he wouldn't get to change for the better if he didn't do shitty, selfish, things and feel bad about them later.

Well that was one hell of a chapter. But if was SO MUCH FUN to write. I _looooove _writing Sasuke. I honestly never know what's going to jump onto the page when I get into his shoes. Sasuke surprises me, definitely. Did this chapter surprise you? What did you like the most about it if you liked it? What did you dislike the most if you disliked it? LET ME KNOW. Review. Do you like the fact that the POV switches alternate from chapter to chapter now?

Next chapter I will be writing from Sakura's POV as promised.

Again, please review because I feel like Sakura's POV could use some work. I don't know how to make it better. I don't even know if I write her well. I feel like I connect with Sasuke's "reformed" personality better than I connect with Sakura's "troubled" personality.

I had dealt with a lot of problems in my lifetime and I don't deal with my issues like a woman. I deal with them like a man. Maybe that's why Sasuke is just easier to slip into. If I were Sakura I would just confront people about the elephant in the room but she's not the type to rock the emotional boat like that so she's a little harder to write for me. Also Kishimoto has given me the finger by making her personality _really _feminine, compared to mine at least. I think I have to tap into her bruteness a little bit but that will definitely happen in the later chapters because her and Sasuke still have to spar and train together at some point. Lol I imagine those chapters will be fun and easy to write because it will be simple psychological territory to traverse. I can connect with _her_ "shinobi" side. Her emotional side though? Little bit difficult, there.

Anyway again, _please _review. I am _dying _to hear what you guys have to say about this chapter because it's a _big _step in the right direction for Sasuke.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto ™ - I don't even know if that ™ should even be there, but _anyway_. I don't own it and I don't make any profits writing this. It's just a fun writing experiment that I've fallen madly in love with.

See 'ya later, Space Cowboy!


	9. Drink and Tell

KISEKI

|9|

Sasuke could be as dumb as Naruto at times. Seriously, what was _with _guys? They seemed to just turn off their braincells sometimes. _I_ didn't give a _damn _about Sasuke's supposed "social anxiety". I was going to drink and have fun tonight for my friend. For my romantic interest. _No matter what_. I was upset at what he said, because I thought he didn't want to be seen around with me, but… that _dummy_. He was such a drama queen sometimes! Jeez, kami-sama _forbid_ he steps out of his comfort zone for a night! Tch.

I waved at Temari and an unwilling Shikamaru excitedly. Temari looked _so_ gorgeous! Her usually wild blonde hair was straight and loose, her blonde bangs pushed to the side. She was wearing light makeup and a beautiful cerulean blue party dress that was tight around her top, criss-crossed around her back and fluttered away at her waist. She had _killer _black stilettos on that she could walk in _way _better than me. I wanted her calves for myself. I hate not having patience for heels. The Suna kunoichi was taller than me too, damn it. I smirked at Shikamaru; the lucky bastard. He had a badass kunoichi _and_ a proper girlfriend all in one.

Speaking of Shikamaru, Temari had made him shave _and _he was actually wearing _white! _He had a black button-up on, under which he wore a white tee. The white shirt was tight and showed off the pecs that even his royal laziness had busted his butt to earn. He wore grey jeans, like Sasuke, so I figured they were popular this summer amongst civilians. He had black and white, low-top shoes on with closed, rounded toes. Interesting. Shikamaru and Sasuke fist-bumped— a greeting that they probably picked up from Naruto— and I squealed as I launched myself at Temari. I hadn't seen her in forever. She squeezed me back and I felt tiny compared to her. My nose just barely touched her shoulder. She was as tall as Shikamaru in her heels!

"Saku_ra_." She tsked and shook her finger. I blushed. Did I look like shit? I probably did; it's been a while since I went all-out to go out. She reached over and pulled the ornate clip out of my hair and shoved the one end of it into Sasuke's pocket. Poor Sasuke looked like he didn't know what to do in response; he definitely wasn't expecting Temari to be so nonchalant around him. Shikamaru just sent him a shrug: _deal with it_.

My hair had styled itself in the twist it had been in and fell just past my shoulders in long, billowy waves. Okay. That was an _improvement_. In the humidity of the night, my bangs, still to the side, had waved as well. I actually _felt _sexier thanks to the adjustment. Yeah, Termai was right, tonight was definitely a "hair down" night.

"Tell me you sealed your heels away somewhere. They won't let you in like _that_." She spoke, pointing at my feet.

"The heels are in here, no worries." I held up my clutch, smiling and she smirked.

"You're such a shinobi." She commented with a shake of her head.

"I know." I grinned. I wasn't as girly as the other kunoichi I knew, but I was proud of my recently refined strength and grace on the battlefield.

"Yo Sakura." Shikamaru greeted with a yawn. He looked _so_ over this. It was funny.

"What Shika? Is it your bedtime already?" I replied, snidely, but he knew it was just a well-placed joke.

"No, but I have a feeling 4 am will be." He did _not _sound ecstatic. Temari socked him across the shoulder in response to his attitude.

"I've never been to a club in fire country. You lost the bet now deal with it." She reminded him in a harsh, but not explicitly _angry_ tone.

"What was the bet?" I was surprised to hear Sasuke speak. I wasn't used to him being social, and, well… _casual._ His voice was attractive and smooth. Mmm. Damn Jashin to hell for giving me irresistibly sexy teammates…

Anyway, Temari and Shikamaru blushed at the question. Temari stepped up to come up with some reasonable excuse but they had already _both_ messed up and Sasuke and I already knew it was a bet that was only meant for their ears and eyes behind closed doors.

"Well, uh…" Temari didn't know how to respond. I took her hesitation as my moment to give her a shit-eating grin, and then embarrass her more.

"Oh I see. So I guess kurenai-sensei's Asuma-kun is going to have a cousin soon?" I leered with the upper hand, and Temari shoved me a little as she hissed my name out. Thank kami-sama I had flats on. I would've keeled over if I were wearing my heels and she shoved me like that. Shikamaru just smirked at us both.

"Let's go. With any hope you two will get tired early and give me and Sasuke a lucky break." Shikamaru interjected. I gave him an owl-eyed look. Temari and I then looked at each other and smirked.

"Oh, you just sealed your fate, Shikamaru." I deadpanned. Sasuke huffed and sent the Nara a small glare.

"Yeah, 4 am _is _going to be your bedtime tonight." Temari grinned abusively. Shikamaru rolled his eyes and just started walking. Temari smiled, squeezed my hand and went to go hold her boyfriend's hand. Awkwardly, Sasuke waited for me to place myself in between him and Temari and together we began the walk to the club.

The next forty-five minutes were spent catching up. I hadn't had a chance to talk to either Shikamaru or Temari in ages.

"How's Gaara been?" That was the first question out of my mouth. I hadn't seen the almighty Kazekage-sama in years! "And Kankurou? Oh! And how about Baki-san?"

Temari laughed heartily.

"Jeez, Uchiha, did you booze her up before you brought her here?" She joked to Sasuke. Said Uchiha's head shot up and he looked surprised that he was even being addressed. He smirked in response to her joke. Had he and Temari gotten over their issues at some point in these last four years? Maybe Temari forgave him for fighting her brother at the summit but just hasn't told him yet…

"It would've been entertaining if I did." He responded. "But we have a drinking contest to fairly participate in, so no." He replied coolly.

"Oh man, Sakura's going to be carrying you home tonight." Shikamaru interjected as if he felt bad for the Uchiha. Which, he was right, I probably _would_ end up carrying Sasuke home. Hah. That would be a funny sight: the night the great Uchiha Sasuke got carried home by a pink-haired _woman_ because he couldn't hold his liquor. I grinned evilly at the dirt road beneath my feet as we walked. Should I make that my goal for tonight…?

"Poison immunities." Sasuke simply responded in a tactical tone.

"Meh. My money's still on Sakura carrying you home." Shikamaru shrugged. He knew that between me and Tsunade-sama there was no one that could really keep up when we started going.

"Sorry Uchiha, I'd be on your side if I hadn't drank against Sakura herself a year ago. Never again." Temari explained with a nostalgic shake of her head, as if reaffirming to herself that it was a terrible idea. Surprisingly, I still remembered that night. I wasn't completely blasted when we went home. I had helped Shikamaru carry Temari to her temporary residence in Konoha at the time. It was a funny sight, really. Two drunk shinobi carrying a drunk shinobi home. Hah. Good times… Which brings me back to wondering how Gaara, Kankurou and Baki-san were doing.

"You _never_ answered my questions!" I howled, dejected that they all acted _so _cool and ignored my need for updates. I was Sakura. I needed to know how my patients were doing. And yes, for the record, I had treated all five Kage personally after the war. Temari had come to me for some help with a few sprains and cuts as well.

"Oh right; Gaara. He's all right, I guess." She shrugged her deceptively slender shoulders.

"You guess?" I queried in response, now worried.

"Well, an announcement is going to be sent here soon, so I guess I can tell you…" I waited with baited breath. Was Gaara hurt? Impeached?

"He's going to have to marry soon." Oh shit. I wasn't expecting that. "It's almost time for him to take a wife. He's having difficulties acquiring one." Temari explained. I was shocked. _Gaara_(?) having trouble finding a girl to marry him? That was unimaginable, with his heart of gold. What woman wouldn't want to date and marry the Kazekage?

"_What?_" I spoke with zero filters because I was comfortable around Temari. She was a friend of mine and we'd worked together many times in the past. "How is that even _possible_? He's so sweet!" I replied. Almost offended _for_ Gaara myself.

"Oh, well then, problem solved. Go marry him, Sakura." Temari replied flippantly with a wave of her hand.

"Wait, hold on, I don't even know him _that _well, Temari!" I quickly defended, cheeks reddened only because I could never see myself as Mrs. Kazegake. Or Sabaku no Sakura. No way.

"Okay, and there's the problem. It's not so much that girls aren't lining up to be with him, he just… doesn't have anyone he can trust like that that's female. He knows most of them just want the title and respect of being knows as the Kazekage-sama's wife." Temari shrugged as she explained.

"Okay, so he wants to marry for love." Complicated. Poor Gaara. I felt bad for him.

"Or for something that can _turn into_ love one day, yeah." Temari corrected. "Right now it's a trust, truth and transparency thing."

I thought on that for a second.

"Okay, well here's what you do…" And I wasn't serious and they knew it. "Just pick a really hot girl, send him into the wilderness and see what happens. Sometimes survival brings out teamwork. Teamwork brings closeness which can bloom into love." I shrugged.

"Hah, what kind of academy-level romance novels have you been reading?" Temari asked, laughing.

"Well I don't know, it's a proven fact that things like that happen when you have to survive! He'd at least figure out what he wants in a woman." I shrugged because that advice, though shitty _did _have some merit to it.

"He'll figure _something_ out. I imagine he might break the traditional "kage" rules and actually travel abroad for a short time if nothing changes in the next month." Temari commented on a serious note.

"Wow, he was really contemplating that? Wouldn't that cause a problem for the village elders?" I asked. It was unheard of for a kage to leave their respective village.

"Yeah, a big one. But it would cause so many heart attacks throughout the council that it might actually _fix_ more problems than it would create!" Temari laughed again, and I realized that the Sunagakure council was probably still large, elderly, and stubborn. I laughed at her dark humor and turned my attention to Shikamaru.

"So when were you going to tell me about Kakashi and Kurenai? Never?" I sniped, craning my head forward so I could pin him with a glare. It wasn't fair that I had to go out and do the investigative work myself.

"Hey, not my business to spread." Shikamaru defended with his hands up in surrender.

"How have your missions been, Sakura?" Temari asked before I could grill Shikamaru any further. Heh. Interesting; they worked together rather well to cover each other's asses. That's cute.

"Eh. Some easier than others. As usual." I commented vaguely because I really did _not_ want to talk about everyone I had killed or lost at a hospital the last four years. Temari nodded and I decided to elaborate to not sound rude. "The last year I've been working on improving medicine and medics for hospitals all over the five countries and everywhere in between. There's a lot to do, especially since people are still recovering after the war."

"Wow, I can imagine. Do you actually train iryo-nin?" She asked, genuinely curious.

"Yes. Only the medic part of it, though. Never the combat part. That stays secret, of course." I explained. "I've been thinking about opening up my own medical school in Konoha. It would be nice to have a well-trained medic to send to all of the hospitals in the smaller towns and countries in between the nations to make things are running smoothly after I put them together. It takes a lot to bounce around back and forth and kami-sama all the _letters_…" I hated mail. I usually had Shizune respond to my letters for me.

"Ah, speaking of which, Gaara may ask you to help out with the hospital. We have very few iryo nin, so you might get a request to come to Suna for a while soon." Temari hinted.

"Oh, that would be great! I was planning on asking Tsunade-sama to send me there, anyway. After the incident with Kankurou…" I trailed off, but Temari understood. I had realized back then how poor Suna's medical system was. Obviously Garra was making changes to _all _of Suna's inner workings if he was going to need me to fix up his hospital soon. "In any case, it's good to know that Gaara's been making positive changes to Suna since the last time I've been there." The redhead had really grown into an incredible leader. I still shivered when I remembered the beautiful speech he gave at the start of the war. Everyone really rallied together in response. It took one hell of a speech and a public speaker to unify 80,000 shinobi and get them all to focus on the same goal despite their bad blood from the past. I smiled at the memory.

"Man tomorrow's going to be so troublesome. I have a clan meeting." Shikamaru whined and I giggled because he sounded like an old man who needed to retire already.

"If you're lucky I'll manage to get you so drunk you'll just be wasted through the whole thing and won't really have to focus on it." Temari commented flippantly, grinning mischievously.

"Yeah right, ask Sasuke, that's not how things work in clan meetings." Shikamaru drawled back. Both Temari and I turned our heads towards Sasuke. He seemed to be wearing a small, nostalgic smile as he looked at the houses just ahead of us. We were entering residential territory. How long have we been walking? I didn't notice the time fly.

"They'll notice if you're still drunk and then you'll be under scrutiny forever. It doesn't help that you're young _and_ dating internationally. I imagine meeting with your elders is usually uncomfortable." Sasuke commented.

"Well, they're not _that_ strict. They like having alliances as a result of courtship and marriage and whatnot. They just give me a lot of crap for being the youngest clan head to ever take position since the village was formed." He shrugged.

"Mn. My clan had a lot less room for movement. Count yourself lucky." Sasuke responded, a slightly dark edge to his tone. How had it been for his elder brother, being the heir to the Uchiha clan head? Jeez… must've been tough… Poor Itachi-san. I would have to go visit him and pray for him tomorrow…

"Is that because of the sharingan?" Temari asked. "Not to be rude or anything…" She added cautiously. Sasuke shook his head. I felt tense, because I imagined it would be hard for him to talk about his family and how his people were, but he seemed all right, like he was free of those kinds of chains… Had he slowly been getting over everything these last four years? I studied his relaxed body as he moved fluidly, _beautifully_ through the brightly-lit street. Yeah… I hadn't realized it before but it looked like there was a weight off of his chest... Maybe he had finally changed his dismal perspective on life and his purpose in it. I caught myself just as I was becoming a little _too _invested in his thoughts and his feelings for comfort, so I just focused on his response.

"Yes. The Hyuuga are similar from what I remember. Marrying outside of the clan is close to impossible." I frowned about that. What about Naruto and Hinata then?

"What if you're next in line to become Hokage and just happen to come from one of the best and most loved kages known to Konoha history?" I heavily hinted. Sasuke looked down at me, but just shook his head.

"I don't know how they're going to handle that. I keep telling Naruto to just buy her a ring, or a betrothal necklace, or whatever they use to propose. He doesn't listen." Wow. _Sasuke_ telling _Naruto_ to marry? Now I'd seen it all. I wonder why Naruto was being so stubborn… was it because—

"Oh whatever, you know Naruto always finds a way." Shikamaru interrupted my thoughts and I had to agree with him and smile at the fact that he waved his hand leisurely and just _trusted_ Naruto. When it came to Naruto, Shikamaru didn't have to use his head much. He'd be a great councilman for my best friend in the future.

We started to traverse into a more densely populated area of the Festival Town, which was more like a festival _city_ now that they looked like they were _actually _having a _festival_. _Two_ festivals, actually. People dressed in all kinds of kimonos, waving around multi-colored fans and wearing all sorts of masks passed us by on one warmly-lit street. Fireworks had also just gone off at that point as well. On the other side of the street, people were wearing flowers of all different kinds. Everyone was wearing something with either a real or a printed flower on it. We all took in the sights and the smells of the food stands and eventually came upon Hofuku. We took our tickets out as the club came into sight.

"Guys, hang on." I stopped everyone. Temari turned around and looked at me oddly. Shikamaru mirrored her expression, but Sasuke rolled his eyes as he saw me open my clutch. He moved next to me as if it were his _job_ and I grinned. Wonderful. A shoulder to _literally_ lean on. I unsealed my heels and put them on, using Sasuke as support while Temari laughed her ass off and Shikamaru made some comment about how the great and terrifying avenger, Uchiha Sasuke, was reduced to being a woman's personal man-servant. I felt more than I saw the glare Sasuke shot in his direction as I resealed my flats into the paper and placed it back into the clutch.

"Okay. All clear." Whoops. Anbu talk. Shikamaru sent me a weary look. We were supposed to be _civilians_. Common military terminology shouldn't be thrown around casually lest someone catch onto it. I blushed. "Sorry, let's go." I corrected and we went up to the bouncer with our VIP tickets. The VIP tickets allowed us to avoid the ridiculously long line and we were pushed in after having our ID's checked and the "retribution" kanji stamped onto the backs of our hands in glow-in-the-dark ink.

**SUGGESTION: If you want to experience this chapter with music in the back ground look up these songs and play them! If not just skip this bolded part and continue reading! **

**Epic by Sandro Silva **

**Miraj by Sandro Silva**

**Payback by Sandro Silva**

**Let Go Tonight by Sandro Silva **

**Beam Me Up BY Cazzette**

**Ladi Dadi By Steve Aoki**

**Thunder by W&W **

**Animals by Martin Garrix **

**Sound of Violence by Dennis De Laat**

**Three Triangles by Hardwell **

**Stampede by Dimitri Vegas, Like Mike, and Borgeous **

**There and Back by Wolfgang Gartner **

**Pressure (Alesso Remix) by Alex Kenji, Starkillers and Nadia Ali**

Inside, the music was _booming_. It was a hard, electric genre that was playing that night; just my style. I bobbed my head to the beat of the bass and wove my way through the massive crowd, trying to find the bar towards the far back of the large lounge. I was passing through a crowd dressed in white dancing under many black lights. Every bright thing they wore glowed, as did my glow-in-the-dark ink stamp on my hand.

There were people literally _everywhere_ and I was surprised to feel a warm, masculine and calloused hand wrap around mine, tightly. I stopped. Was I going to have to hurt someone _already_? I wanted my liquor first before I got stupid with a guy. Sake always came _first_. Didn't stupid guys know that? I whipped my head around, not caring that I smacked some guy in passing in the face with my hair. Thakfully I heard the guy laugh as he pushed my hair away. He didn't cause a problem. To my surprise the person holding my hand was Sasuke. On instinct I blushed, but I repressed that part of me quickly. He was giving me a stern look, his black eyes looking even _darker_ and _sexier_ in the surrounding environment, and I _think_ I knew what he meant. Either he was trying to say, _Don't leave me to the mercy of these people _or he was saying, _You better not get lost_.

Either way I felt like I had the upper hand here. Tch. Rookie. I smirked at him, turned around, took the lead and _pulled _him through the thrashing and dancing bodies, amazed at how much heat we were surrounded by, despite the obvious AC that was blasting through the vents above the crowd. It was dark in the club aside from a few soft, warm lights illuminating the walls and the wallflowers and kissing couples that clung to them, and lots of colored, laser-lights flitting about the crowd, giving the dance floor and DJ stand a hypnotic appearance.

I swayed my hips as a beat that I particularly liked flooded my ears, because _fuck it_ I just had a really good feelingthat tonight would be _epic_. Finally, I found the glowing, square-shaped bar. It was all glass, illuminated in a blue light to make it look futuristic or ethereal or whatever. There was just a bit of space in between the bar stools and the many people dancing and flailing— some drunkenly— to the entrancing song.

I popped through the crowd and smiled that no one had spilled their drink on either me, or Sasuke who popped out just behind me. We let go of each other and sat on the round, spinning stools in front of the bar. The bartender smiled at me. He knew damn well who I was and made it a point to saunter over to me. This was going to be fun… I was surprised to see him there, actually. Last time we met he was a bartender in kirigakure.

The man's name was Akio and he had _beautiful, wild_ dark hair and piercing, blue eyes that rivaled Naruto's in a sexy, mysterious kind of way. He was dressed in a black button-up and a pair of black slacks. I leaned over in my chair and stuck out my arms as he practically climbed up on the bottom bar on his side to lean over and hug me. He kissed my neck and I thought I felt a little bit of killing intent from Sasuke, but I ignored it. If he was as protective as Naruto, he'd have to learn to get over it somehow. I was a big girl. Besides, me and Akio had had amazing sex already. It was too late to fight for a modesty that wasn't there anymore, at least between myself and Akio.

"Saki!" He called over the music once we pulled away. "I haven't seen you in forever!" He grinned in that sexy way I forgot he could grin in.

"Followed me to Fire Country like you promised?!" I laughed and he smiled in response, shaking his head. "Nah, I'm not stupid; I _know_ you don't do long-term! Is this your asshole ex-teammate?" He pointed to Sasuke and Sasuke glared at him, _murderously_. For a civilian with minimal shinobi training, Akio had fucking _guts_. At least, to say something like that to Sasuke afte knowing he'd been one of the most dangerous men this world has ever seen.

"Yeah but he's not an asshole anymore, I promise! Don't poison his drinks, ne?!" I laughed hard. "We're just here to drink and have fun!" I warned and just then Temari and Shikamaru fell through the dancing crowd out of breath. Apparently, they had already danced a little. Go Temari!

"Your friends?" Akio pointed as Temari sat next to Sasuke on his right. Shikamaru sat next to her, on her right.

"Yeah, treat 'em good for me, onegaiishimasu!" I spoke.

He shot me a smirk. "I'll still treat you the best, Saki, you know that!"

I laughed because Akio had lost _none_ of the charm he had the last time we met.

"Really, what made you come all the way to Fire?" I asked him over the booming music. The song changed. It was another hard, electric song but this one had a sexier lilt to it; it was the kind of song a girl could just dance to in a sexy way. Kami-sama, this DJ was making my night tonight.

"Too fucking rainy in Kiri! I got depressed after you left!" He laughed at himself and I shook my head. Poor Akio… I really broke his heart… I still felt bad about to this day, two years later.

"All right, princess, what'll it be tonight? You wanna start off hard or soft?" He changed the subject, thankfully. I was starting to _feel_ Sasuke's sour attitude at he watched us catch up.

"Hard! Get the best and newest for me and Sasuke!" I wanted a modern drink. I wanted to try something new tonight.

"What about your friends?" Akio jerked a thumb at Shikamaru and Temari, who stuck her tongue out at me before she spoke.

"Yeah what about us? You didn't even introduce, Sakura!" She chastised. I felt stupid and blushed.

"Oh! Right! Guys, this is Dekuru Akio! I met him while he was bartending in Kiri. Akio, this is Temari and Shikamaru. They're good friends of mine!"

"All right, Temari and Shikamaru; awesome! What'll it be for you guys?" Akio smiled personably, and I had to admire him for having fun with his job. I had always envied him for that. We were an odd couple when we were together. He was the free one, moving from place to place whenever he felt like it. He got to meet and make friends with so many people on a regular basis. He was social and charismatic, whereas I was forced into death, secrecy and duty, though I couldn't imagine myself doing anything else. I was a damned good doctor and a damned good assassin. That was just what I did. In the end, we were too different. He had asked me to just leave what I was doing if I was unhappy, not understanding that being a shinobi is not something you can just leave after coming such a long way. Plus, I was stronger than him. In the end, I felt like I would have to protect him in case of emergency and some repressed feminine part of me wanted someone strong enough to protect _me_ if I ever needed to be protected. That would mean a civilian bartender, though a good bedmate, wasn't exactly sexually enticing after a couple of months.

"Same as them!" Temari cheerfully responded, breaking my train of thought. "Even if my sour-faced boyfriend says he'll stick to water." She added in teasingly. Shikamaru shot her a dejected look.

"You're only young once, man, your girl has a point!" Akio laughed. "Gimme just a few minutes!"

He disappeared to the other side of the square-shaped bar to get a few orders from some loud girls who wanted more to drink. I looked over at Sasuke. He was tense and he looked ready to kill. I put my hand on his leg and he twitched, just slightly. He looked angry at me, so I grabbed him by his collar and pulled him close so I could speak into his ear. Nope, you just couldn't be gentle and reassuring with Sasuke, that only pissed him off more.

"We get free drinks. Stop complaining and just have fun." I deadpanned into the shell of his ear, because Suchiru would want _everyone _to have fun and I'd be damned if I let Sasuke ruin tonight for me.

"He's a fucking pervert, Sakura." He defended himself as I let go of his shirt.

I laughed. "And so am I." I shrugged and pulled away from him and then laughed more when I saw the horrified expression on Sasuke's face. Hah! That caught him off guard. I pointed at him and laughed harder because I had never seen Sasuke so red-faced and astounded in my _entire _life. Shikamaru and Temari were speaking amongst themselves so they hadn't known why I was laughing so hard when they looked up in response to my voice. They went back to talking and Sasuke shook his head, eventually recovering from my absurd and overly-open comment. Whatever, he'd realize it eventually anyway.

"You ready to drink, Mr. I-think-I'm-better-than-Sakura-at-drinking?!" I shouted over to him. He used some chakra to scoot his chair over towards me so he could hear me better, or speak to me without shouting at the top of his lungs, whichever. I smiled at his warmth. Who would have known Sasuke could be such a warm person? You would think after being shrouded with so much darkness throughout his life he'd feel cold, like a corpse.

"I'm ready to drink you under the table, yes." He replied in his sexy baritone. I laughed at his confidence. It was endearing.

"Ah, then you'll have to follow me under the table and drink some more with me, Sasuke." I flirted back, because I was in a club, in a good mood and the music was _awesome_;how could I _not_ be flirtatious, even with Sasuke? It didn't mean anything anyway. I flirted with Naruto a little in these kinds of settings too. Shit, I'd even take a chance at flirting with Neji if he were allowed to go to something like this.

Neji… poor Neji… Fuck… Where was that booze Akio promised me?

I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up to see Sasuke, a concerned expression on his face. I offered him a fake smile and a shake of my head as I heard the clinking of two rather _tall_-sounding glasses on the glowing glass bar in front of us. It was some sort of bubbly bright _green_ drink that I had never seen before. He placed two smaller glasses of the same drink in front of Temari and Shikamaru. He had decorated the wide rim of Temari's drink with mandarin and peach slices and mine with strawberries, raspberries and apple slices. I blushed as Akio winked. Apparently, he still remembered my first time experimenting with food and sex. I shook my head, lifted my drink, thanked him as he went over to the other side of the bar and turned to an annoyed Sasuke. I shrugged and lifted the heavy drink to him.

He lifted his. I gently clinked my glass against his and smiled.

"To all of the promotions and jokes I missed between you and Naruto collectively." I offered

He nodded and I saw his mind coming up with something to drink to, so I waited for him, our glasses still touching. He smirked.

"To the craziest night I will probably ever experience in my entire life." I laughed at his toast and we both took a very large gulp of the drink. I carefully tried to balance the fruit on top of it while I drank. Damn, this song was amazing. I wanted to dance and move around to it. I eyed Sasuke over my drink. He eyed me over his. …Maybe if I ask him he'll dance with me… _if_ he's drunk enough. I had never seen Sasuke drunk. I don't even know what he's like when he's drunk. I hope he gets stupid and happy like I do. If he doesn't, I'll just have to _make _him be stupid and happy with me. I grinned as I finished sipping and placed my glass down on the hard surface of the bar. Sasuke placed his down after mine.

"You lasted pretty long on that one." I commented, because I had never seen him down so much alcohol at once. Both of our glasses were half full. He was actually focusing on out-drinking me. Yeah, tonight was _definitely _going to be fun.

"I took your advice." He responded as if him downing half a _tall_ glass of whatever Akio made for us was no big deal. It really was, because only I could down that much in one sitting. Tsunade-sama was the only other living person I'd seen keep up with me like that.

"What?" What advice was he talking about? What did my advice have to do with him not throwing up everything he just drank so quickly?

"I ate bland food for a while to see if you were right about the acidity thing you mentioned." He clarified and I noticed his dark eyes glaze just slightly. Uh-huh… Sasuke was totally getting buzzed. That drink was _strong_.

"Oh, so was I?" I asked coyly. Sneaky Sasuke… testing out my theories in secret… He shrugged, but the corner of his mouth quirked up just a bit and I figured he thought that it did; he just didn't want to tell me because kami-sama forbid he admitted he was wrong. Sasuke will always be Sasuke.

"Yeah, yeah, you can admit I was right any moment, Sasuke." I pressed confidently, because the human body and its workings were _my_ forte, not his.

"I think you were, but my stomach is still going to hurt later anyway." He shrugged and daringly took another sip of his drink, though this one was calm and not as rushed as our initial sip. I dipped an apple slice into the drink and let it soak up the alcohol as Sasuke watched me with a curious gaze. I handed him the apple slice instead of eating it myself. He looked at it and some emotion I couldn't decipher crossed his face. He looked serious as he took it from me and bit into it. I ignored the expressions he was making and picked up another apple slice, soaking it while I watched him eat.

"I can just always heal you, you know. It doesn't have to be _that_ bad tomorrow morning." I shrugged and he nodded as he finished off the apple slice.

"You might have to." Past his head I saw Shikamaru and Temari touching each other's legs, holding hands and whispering to each other. They were both red in the face and a few shot glasses stood next to their large green glasses. Oh boy… they were bold in public, all right. Sasuke spun his bar stool, following my gaze just enough so that he caught what was going on with the corner of his eye. He turned and smirked back at me.

"Those 'cousins' you were talking about…" He simply spoke, referring to my comment earlier tonight and I laughed at his sense of humor.

"Yeah… cousins. Definitely. Soon, it looks like." I cryptically responded.

"Marriage first though." Sasuke held up his finger. So traditional. I wasn't expecting that from him. I figured he'd be a bit more progressive after being out and about for so many years. But it seemed right, regardless. Maybe he wanted to hold onto the values he remembered his parents having. If anything it was a sweet homage to them. I smiled softly at him. He had turned out just fine after the war. Thank kami-sama for Kakashi-sensei and Naruto. I kept the good mood going and laughed at the kissing couple next to us.

"Jeez I should let Ino start planning their wedding." I commented as I chewed on another apple slice. The added alcohol made it taste sooo good. Sasuke snorted at that one. I think we both laughed at the image of Ino in bossy-pig-mode controlling every little detail of someone else's wedding.

"You think she'd crack the whip at Shikamaru?" I asked. Sasuke shrugged.

"If not Ino, then that one definitely would." And Sasuke raised his glass, pointing at Temari discreetly with his elbow and took a drink. I shook my head. Who the hell knew? I was just happy that Shikamaru had found someone to love that loved him and his laziness back just as equally. Love was beautiful. Too bad I was too mentally damaged to want anything to do with it. Sasuke and I shared the rest of my fruit in silence and then got back to drinking.

"We should play a game." I suggested. Sasuke downed the rest of his glass and placed the drink back atop of the bar jut as another song started. I started to dance in my chair as he replied.

"What kind of game?" He asked, curiously.

"I don't know; a drinking game, so I don't have to go and dance just yet." I laughed and twisted my hips around in the seat, arms up in the air and hair whipping about for just a split second as the beat dropped and got going.

"I don't know any drinking games." Sasuke revealed. I deflated and then I took his hand in both of mine, holding a serious expression on my face as Akio cleared his glass from the bar in a hurry and moved along. After a few minutes of looking at my serious face, he began to look worried; the alcohol wasn't helping him realize that I was totally being false… fufufufuuu… good.

"Sasuke… because of that comment, I'm afraid the diagnosis is that you're extremely boring." He looked minutely offended but then decided to play along in good humor.

"Oh, is it terminal?" He asked, feigning a worried look.

"I'm afraid there's only one cure…" I deadpanned jokingly and I have to say my façade cracked a little here. I snickered. Sasuke smirked, but only a little. Kami-sama why does he have to be so good-looking? Also, why did you make his personality improve? I was actually enjoying my time with him, though I don't know if that's because I felt overly optimistic tonight or not.

"Oh? What's that?" He held his act better than I held mine. He looked genuinely curious. I squeezed his hand, feigning an emotional moment between doctor and patient. I shook my head as if my next sentence was hard for me to say.

"I'm afraid you'll have to play 'Drink and Tell' with me." DUN DUN DUNNNN!

"Is it difficult?" He asked, squeezing back, feigning the same emotion. And I have no idea who we were putting on a show for, at this point. But it was fucking funny to me so whatever. I nodded solemnly.

"Yes, Uchiha-san…" I put on my best impression of my doctor voice. "For those who have had a stick up their ass their entire life such as yourself I'm afraid it's a daunting task." He threw my hand at my lap, expressively in response to my jibe and I laughed.

"Fine. Let's play." He smirked, rising to the challenge I just posed for him.

"Good." I grinned.

"Rules?" He questioned. I downed my drink and raised my hand. Akio noticed and leapt over, crossing from the opposite side of the bar in four long, fast strides. He cleared my glass quickly and made eye contact with me.

"What's next?" He asked me, but Sasuke stepped up and answered. Surprise, _surprise_.

"Something effective." My Uchiha teammate spoke authoritatively and I laughed at the dark brow Akio rose in response. Sasuke gave him a _What, did I stutter?_ kind of look and I couldn't help but laugh at the exchange of machismo. Guys were so weird.

"Actually, yeah. Something _really _effective, please. Mix it well, ne?" I acted as cute as possible and Akio's blue eyes softened. He had been in love with me; he couldn't refuse when I asked like _that_. My favorite bartender nodded and disappeared for more glasses, ordering a bar-back that showed up momentarily to get more of whatever kind of liquor he needed. I bounced and moved in time to the bass of the song that was playing. I wanted to dance _so_ bad.

"Okay." I stopped myself from dancing. "The rules are simpl—

"Hey." I glared at a drunk man who had all of a sudden slid in front of me, completely obscuring my hot teammate from my view. He was maybe Kakashi's age, with sand-colored hair and brown eyes. He _reeked _of liquor, _and_ cigarette smoke. Ew. He was smiling at me. His teeth were yellow. Grosssssss…..

"…Hi…" I responded slowly. And I blinked. Because what the fuck was he thinking, really?

"I couldn't help but notice that you… wan~na dance." He slurred. Oh shit. He was _actually _hitting on me. _While _piss drunk. Wow. Suddenly, he twitched minutely and his eyes rolled into the back of his head. He started to fall over towards me. Oh no… His face would land _right_ into my boobs if he continued falling that way. I tensed to get up, but thankfully, Sasuke "casually" kicked him into the crowd, while putting one of his ankles onto his knee. Beautiful execution. I started to laugh because he looked _really _nonchalant as the people in the crowd yelled in offense and screamed obscenities as the guy fell into them. I laughed as I watched a few bouncers come by, pick him up and drag him away.

"Did you knock him out?" I asked, because that didn't look like he passed out from drinking too much. That looked like Sasuke had hit a vital pressure point. Sasuke shrugged like it was no big deal.

"Maybe."

I shook my head in disbelief. Sasuke had lost none of his "cool" factor over the years. That was definitely the coolest thing I've seen a guy do for me so far. It was even cooler because Sasuke knew he'd get escorted out if it looked like he had injured someone and had managed to defend me and completely evade such a scenario. Awesome. Just awesome.

"Rules, Sakura?" He questioned, getting back on topic.

I opened my mouth to speak and took a breath, but again, I was interrupted, because Akio dropped by with two more tall glasses for us. Mine matched the _exact _shade of my hairand Sasuke's was clear, but bubbly with mint leaves in it. I shot Akio a smile across the bar. This was beautiful artwork. It's too bad that we would drink it all away.

"Another toast before we start?" I asked. Sasuke nodded. I thought hard about this one, and finally, raised my glass.

"To every bad guy team seven kicks to the curb from now on, because even the wicked deserve _something_." It was lame, but true. I had no hard feelings for the people I had to fight. They were bad but there were things that made them that way. I touched my glass to Sasuke's. We held our glasses that way as he thought on something to say as well.

"To every life team seven saves from now on." He gave me a genuine smile and I grinned at him. That's right… I was so wrapped up in him I forgot that we were going to train together soon. I nodded and we tipped back our glasses and drank. Sasuke had put his down, but I continued drinking as he watched in fascination. I smiled at him as I drank, savoring the sweetness of the beverage. I placed my glass down and exhaled.

"How did yours taste?" I asked, nodding towards his drink, even though he knew what I was talking about. Things like unnecessary actions didn't matter when you were buzzed. Equally, Sasuke slid his eyes to briefly look at his drink before he looked back at me. Completely unnecessary, but he did it anyway. Yep. We were well on our way to testing our tolerance, but we seemed evenly matched.

"Minty. But strong. The guy knows what I like." He commented and I smiled because I now knew what I would ask him during our game of "drink and tell".

"Okay. Now, the rules, Uchiha-san." I playfully tasted his surname on my tongue. He smirked and I noticed his eyes focusing on everything about me at once. They flew from my hair, to my face to my arm, to maybe my legs, or the dance floor that had more people than we initially came in, now stomping all over it. I can't tell. Whatever, I continued. "It's really simple. You can't screw it up." I started. "It's a question game. I drink and I start off with a fact about myself that you don't know. Afterwards, I get to ask you a question that you have to answer 100% honestly. So, you drink, answer and ask me a question and then I drink and answer. Simple. If I trick you by asking a question I know the answer to and you lie to me, you have to down a drink of my choice in one sitting. Vice versa if I lie about anything too." I explained as simply and effectively as I could.

"All right." He shrugged. "Start."

I didn't have to think hard on what to tell Sasuke. He knew very little about me.

"My first jounin mission was in the abandoned Sound Country." I revealed and then drank. Now I smirked… the million dollar question… that we've _all_ been waiting to know the answer to since childhood. Ready? "Okay, do you prefer long hair on women or short?" Sasuke smirked and gave a small, amused laugh in response. He picked up his drink and sipped, only slightly, because maybe, he wanted this game to last a while.

"I prefer whatever suits the woman's face. If she looks cuter with short hair, then I like it. If she looks better with long hair, then so be it. I don't have a specific standard."

Wow. Eloquent response. I'd have to tell Ino that one later. Hats off to Sasuke for being detailed, too. No holding back tonight, huh? I smirked. His turn. He seemed to think carefully as he stared at his drink, then his glazed eyes slid to me.

"What kind of hair do you like on a man? Your personal preference." He shot. I smirked and took a sip of my sweet, but acidic drink. Asshole. Fishing for complements.

"I like it short. Color?" I'd have to be careful here… wouldn't want to complement him _too_ much… "I don't like anything weird. I could never be attracted to a guy with blue or green hair. Ew." I twisted my face and Sasuke laughed, fully amused. "If it's long it has to be dark, otherwise I think I'm trying to flirt with Ino." And at that, he snorted. My turn. I asked the next question that just popped into my mind.

"What's your favorite color?" I asked, because I genuinely had never thought to inquire when we were teammates.

"Blue. But some days I like red better." He shrugged and drank.

"Who was your first kiss?" He smirked as he asked. I blushed. Well, someone was getting personal… two could play at that game.

"A shinobi named Ikuto from Suna." I replied and drank. Sasuke nodded and just drank because he felt like it. I decided I'd sucker-punch him with a _really _personal question later when he was _really _drunk and loose-lipped for the one he just asked me. "What's the name of your favorite mixed drink?" I asked.

"Blue Moon of the Lake from Kirigakure." He shot back with ease and sipped.

"Who did you fight during your anbu exam?" He asked after a moment. Oh that was a shocking one. I smiled.

"A Hyuuga named Tanno." I grinned sourly at the memory. They made me fight him because Tsunade-sama knew of my ptsd about not being able to save Neji. I had to kill my emotions then because he was a _serious_ fighter and he _seriously _reminded me of Neji. Tanno was dangerous and he spared me no mercy. Looking back, it was the most _exhilarating _one on one fight I'd been in, not counting the one against Sasori because Chiyo-baa was there with me. I drank deeply of my drink, just for Neji, because I'd never forget what I couldn't do for him.

"Why do you get depressed sometimes?" My head snapped up. I hadn't realized I was looking down, that I had turned my chair away from Sasuke. _Fuck_. His eyes were on me like one of the hawks he usually summoned. I was slipping up faster than I thought. What the _fuck_ did Akio put in these things!? I quickly spun back to face Sasuke and smirked.

"You broke the one rule I thought you knew was a given!" I exclaimed and wagged my finger in front of his face. He glowered at me, following my finger a few times before he glared. He did _not_ like me avoiding his question; that's for sure, but maybe he wanted to stay in a good mood so he ignore that for now, thankfully.

"Now what?" He asked.

"I won't make you down an entire glass because it wasn't openly stated that you can't do that, but I won't answer the question either." Actually, I couldn't answer it if I wanted to because I already forgot what it was. Something about being sad or something? I was really good at distracting my own mind when I was drinking. Ino had always found that amusing.

"Fair enough. It's your turn." He replied. I nodded and smiled at him because his cheeks looked a little bit pinker in the dim light. I realized that Temari and Shikamaru were gone, their empty glasses left upside down on coasters at their seats. At least they'd be back soon.

-X-

WOOOOOO CLUBS! I was actually listening to EDM the _entire_ time I was writing this chapter. ALL FOURTEEN PAGES. But it helped get me in the mood. If you liked that playlist I put in for you here it is once more:

1. Epic by Sandro Silva

2. Miraj by Sandro Silva

3. Payback by Sandro Silva

4. Let Go Tonight by Sandro Silva

5. Beam Me Up BY Cazzette

6. Ladi Dadi By Steve Aoki

7. Thunder by W&W

8. Animals by Martin Garrix

9. Sound of Violence by Dennis De Laat

10. Three Triangles by Hardwell

11. Stampede by Dimitri Vegas, Like Mike, and Borgeous

12. There and Back by Wolfgang Gartner

13. Pressure (Alesso Remix) by Alex Kenji, Starkillers and Nadia Ali

Anyway, SO next chapter will be from Sasuke's point of view! WOOOO! Now we get to see a drunk and openly honest Sasuke! Yaaaaay! Those thoughts are going to be fun to write. Anyway, did you guys like Akio? Was he realistic enough? Did you like that he still has feelings for Sakura when she clearly said she didn't want to have anything serious, with anyone, like _ever_? So you like Sakura's "drink and tell" game? What are your thoughts? Was this chapter written better than the last? Are you guys even enjoying this fic? Tell me. Your reviews are my motivation don't be afraid to be detailed!

Diclaimer: I don't own anything. All music is owned by the music artists mentioned. They are EPIC. All Naruto characters are owned by Masashi Kishimoto because he's _awesome_. And I don't make any money writing this.

See 'ya later, Space Cowboy!


	10. Roommates

KISEKI

|10|

YAAAAAY tenth chapter! This fic started out as a writing experiment to poke around with a different writing style. It was an experiment to see if I could make something special out of a regular SasukeSakura and it boomed. Thank you for bearing with me so far, readers! I will probably go back and rewrite the first few chapters to fit the new format of the story but for now, just keep reading because I'm on a creativity high for this story and it's moving along swimmingly. Thank you all for your kind reviews! Please keep reviewing! I really like detailed opinions, even if it is constructive criticism. This is my first SasukeSakura so I'm _really _curious as to what you think, because I may think about writing them again in the future.

Also this weekend really sucked from an introverted perspective. I had just too much crap to do when all I wanted was to just write this and work out and write more. Ugh. Whatever I finally got back to it. Speaking of which…

God I feel so sorry for my other story. I hope all my _WEEDS_ fans will forgive me. I had to write something fun because _WEEDS_ is getting too serious and I'm procrastinating lol. No, not "lol". That's not really funny. I need to inspire myself to continue writing T_T. Maybe I should go ask someone if they want to go on an adventure. Blah.

-X-

I sipped on my drink as I watched Sakura eye me with a mischievous look on her pretty face. Whatever it was, the next question would be a good one. I resisted from smirking. It would definitely be something I wouldn't normally respond to. In other news, I could no longer taste the sting of alcohol in my drink. I hope I'm not further along than she is…

"What do you jack off to." She deadpanned in a serious tone and I nearly choked on my drink. I started coughing because it went down the wrong pipe anyway and Sakura laughed as she clapped me hard on the back until I was done.

"What kind-" I coughed more. "– of question is that!?" I coughed twice before I felt the annoyance in my throat finally disappear. I realized that I had had a lot to drink at that point. I was starting to feel slow and heavy as I looked down at her and studied her lips. We only had a drink and a half but it was clear that Akio was _actually _"taking care" of us tonight. The drinks _really_ had a lot of alcohol in them; _no joke_. Sakura was smiling at me innocently, leaning on the bar with one elbow, her cheek propped up on her delicate fist. She was fucking good; I'll give her that. That one caught me off guard.

"Better now?" She asked with a cocked brow in a mock-sweet tone.

"What made you ask _that_?" I asked. Because really, of all things…

"What?" She blinked innocently, as if it _wasn't _weird to ask _that_ much of a personal question. "Kakashi-sensei likes hips, Naruto likes boobs. What gets you off?" She rephrased with a nonchalant wave of her hand, and I realized she wasn't bothering with personal space because longtime friends didn't usually bother with personal space, or concepts, for that matter. Some of my conversations with Naruto should never be mentioned ever again, let alone told to others, so I guess this counted as my first "never to be mentioned again" personal conversation with Sakura.

I was still staring at her in shock that she actually rephrased it like that when she smirked evilly, reached over and closed my mouth with her index finger, like I did to her in my kitchen. I batted her hand away, snapping out of my surprise, but of course, I was well on my way to being drunk so I missed, horribly. Fine. A question's a question. She'd get her answer. I felt my face get hot as I cleared my throat to speak.

"Legs and a good figure." I responded confidently and drank to get rid of the awkwardness I felt. Sakura laughed melodically. I focused on the booming music instead of her laughter. Well, _that_ was fucking embarrassing to admit. I smirked. I _did _have comeback for that, though. I was Uchiha Sasuke, of course. If you fuck with me, I fuck with you three times harder in return. It was just how my brain worked.

"When was the last time you got yourself off?" I asked smoothly. I was appalled at myself for speaking to a woman this way but Sakura was asking for it. Kaa-san would have to excuse me for making her roll in her grave. Honto gomen, Okaa-san. I apologized because she would want me to... after hitting me with something… Sakura was laughing in response.

"Oh, You wanna know, Sasu-_keee_?" She leered, and I narrowed my eyes at her. I shrugged.

"You wanted to get personal, Sa-ku-ra." I tipped my head from side to side, making fun of her name as I said it. She drank down the rest of her drink and practically slammed her glass on the bar.

"Last night." She commented, also confidently.

…

My first thought, you wonder?

….

…

….

In bed or in the shower? Hn. I smirked at myself and downed the rest of my drink. Would Sakura be the type to go at it in bed or discreetly in her shower? Did she have something to do it with? Interesting…

"I didn't ask you a question." She commented as she pointed at my empty drink.

"So?" I smirked and she laughed, eyes darting all over my face. The glowing, colored lights illuminated her skin and made her hair all different shades of pink as they hit the soft waves around her face.

"Did I change your mind? Do you like drinking now?" She asked with a grin and I couldn't say no because if I wasn't drinking with her tonight I wouldn't be having fun. Sakura was making tonight exciting without having to spar with me. That was a difficult task to accomplish. So I gave her credit where she deserved.

"It's fun with _you_." I stressed. "Kakashi is boring and Naruto's an idiot." I shrugged. They weren't exactly "not fun" to drink with, they were just _tedious_ in their own way. Kakashi sometimes got dark and gloomy when he drank and Naruto? Tch. I always had to clean up after Naruto. He made a mess out of some_thing_, some_where_ _every _time.

"Saki?" Bartender-guy showed, smiling at Sakura warmly. I forgot his name already, but what the _fuck_ was he looking at her like that for? Irritating. The guy was fucking irritating by just being _him_. What was with Sakura and dating irritating guys?

"Two Kirigakure Blue Moon's, onegai Aki! Tall as always!" She chirped back, smiling pleasantly. Well, that was nice of her to remember my favorite drink. Anyway, what was with the "Saki"? Why'd he call her that? In fact, how the hell do you get Saki from Sakura? There's no "_I" _in Sakura's _entire_ name; not even her surname. So what _gives_? Aki. She called him Aki. That's right; his name's Akio. Deru… Deku… Desu— fuck it. I can't remember. The guy agreed to make the drinks and _finally _moved away.

Shit. Everything is moving so fast around me. I'm past just a buzz now… downing that glass so fast was a terrible idea… I wonder how bad my liver must feel right now… I looked over and Sakura was dancing in her chair again. I couldn't help but watch as the curves of her body moved fluidly and beautifully to the music around her. Fuck; she looked _good_. Why was she suddenly so _appetizing _after four years? Her hair was bouncing around and I fucking liked it. I _really_ liked it. Sakura always had an abnormal color scheme, but I didn't realize how much I liked it until now. You know what else made her _that_ much hotter than the other women I've slept with?

Sakura is a _shinobi_. She is an _accomplished_ kunoichi. Meaning she had to somehow be _stealthy_ and _survive_ in this cutthroat world with _that_ hair color. Putting her on the battlefield was like painting a big target and _asking_ an enemy to go right for her. The fact that she had just survived twenty one years _and_ a war is amazing, if you look at it that way. She had to have some killer skills and I didn't doubt that she only improved on them after the war. _That_ was sexy: she was independent and strong. Not many anbu women went on solo missions unless they had to do with espionage and sex and I doubted that the Hokage would ever have her student do something like that, so it was clear that Sakura had become a one-woman army over the years. I was helplessly turned on by that knowledge.

"Stop looking at me like I'm weird. I like to dance, so stop making fun of me in your head." She crossed her arms and that did nothing to help my lewd thoughts of her. She ended up pushing her breasts up more and giving me a better view of them. Great, thanks a lot Sakura. I _definitely _wasn't making fun of her in my head, but I smirked to cover up for staring at her anyway. Stop staring Sasuke… hold your fucking liquor.

"Wait till I get a couple more drinks in you. I'll make you dance Uchiha Sasuke. And then _I'll_ laugh at _you_." She threatened seriously and I could only think that her tone was sexy when she spoke like that. Yep. I want her. I'm sorry, but I do. I should just leave her alone after fucking her over as kids, but I want nothing more than to get her attention. Ladies and gentlemen, I, Uchiha Sasuke, am an idiot.

"Not if you're the one dancing with me." I countered, despite my mixed thoughts. If she made me dance with her, I'd probably embarrass her as well as myself. I spent my life fighting, not dancing. Ask me to kill a man; no problem; I'll turn his death into a work of art you could marvel at. Ask me to dance? I'll probably look like an actor on an acid trip. She paused and seemed to eye me critically, despite the glaze over her eyes. Hah. She was just as blasted as I was. But anyway…

"…_Would _you dance with me if I asked you to?" She asked with narrowed eyes.

"Your drink's not out yet. You can't ask a question yet." I pointed out jokingly and she made an annoyed noise and smacked my shoulder. I laughed: she was cute when she was pissed. "Seriously Sasuke." She chastised. Wow, who ever thought she'd _ever_ have to ask_ me_ to be serious? When was I ever _not_ serious? … Apparently when I drank at night clubs with Sakura.

"I would, but only if I learned how to, first." I replied honestly, because… yeah… because liquor, I guess? Yeah. Liquor. We'll go with that, because… meh whatever. Dancing right? We were talking about dancing. Focus. Sakura had that mischievous smirk again and _fuck me_ it made her sexier.

"Okay. I'll grab you a teacher." She smiled, no I lied, she fucking _beamed_, and just then whatever-his-name dropped by with more drinks for us. She pulled him over so she could talk to him just as a song was ending. No. Fucking no. I was _not_ going to dance with that asshole. I would sooner suck Naruto's dick than dance with _that_ asshole out _there_. No way. Just then he tapped his barback and told her to take over. Sakura turned to me and I glared holes through her.

"I'm not dancing with him." I blurted. She stared at me, shocked for a moment before she snorted and doubled over laughing. I swear, she was laughing so hard she had to hold her stomach. I stared at her, confused. Why was she laughing?

"Sa— ah hah! –Sasu— hahahahaha! –Sasukeee!" And she was in another fit of laughter. Suddenly I felt stupid as the guy came over to her. Oh. _They_ were going to dance. _I_ was going to watch him. I felt stupid. Sakura held up her finger, making him wait. He nodded with a smile. She stepped off the bar stool and placed a hand on my shoulder. I bent down to listen to her as she spoke into my ear. Mm… she smelled like something feminine and dangerous. It was sexy and it fit who she had become perfectly.

"I'm going to dance with him, Sasuke, so watch carefully. Akio is sober too, so you can learn a lot from him. Watch my drink, ne?" She spoke softly and I nodded in response. She took off, holding hands with bartender-guy as they walked away from me. I willed some chakra to my eyes, because this prick was only getting _one_ dance with her. Fuck. Nothing happened. My eyes weren't working. I took a breath to steady myself. I forgot that everything took a lot more focus and discipline when I was _this _drunk. Fucking sharingan… work already. Suddenly, like a lever was slowly being pulled inside my brain, my dojutsu kekkei genkai sparked to life. I could feel the tomoe spinning around my irises and being drunk it felt powerful, even to me. I felt like my eyes were dangerous even to myself, especially since I was struggling in keeping my body under control.

Regardless, I zeroed in on Sakura's crown of pink hair in the crowd and tried not to focus on how good her ass looked she wiggled around to the beat of the song. They weren't holding each other…yet, but my eyes told me that he was thinking about it; the tension in his arms gave him away. The beat thrummed loudly and it wasn't long before I understood the way I was supposed to move my body. Dancing was easier than taijutsu. Way easier, actually. Sakura was doing most of the work. He was really only using a few muscles in his back, shoulders and legs to do what he was doing. I studied him religiously throughout that whole song, drinking my drink as I slipped off of my chair, and leaned against the bar. Eventually, I jumped when I felt a pair of hands slide intimately up my rib cage, feeling my body beneath my shirt.

Well… _that_ felt familiar.

I looked down to see a crown of dark brown hair and glazed chocolate eyes peering up at me. A perverse, feminine smile, rosy cheeks and a heavy perfumey scent mixed with the scent of _a lot _of liquor. When the hell did she get here? How the hell did she sneak up on me? Who is this woman, anyway? I studied her. She studied me. Her hands slid down to my belt. Shit. I quickly placed my hands on hers to stop her from undressing me because the sharingan wasn't a liar and that was her next move; unbuttoning my pants... I didn't want her to undress me because she didn't have pink hair and she wasn't Sakura. She was wearing a skin-tight black dress that dipped downwards in the front, showing off her cleavage. Her hair was loose and she had a long, thin gold chain with a tassel pendant hanging around her neck. I won't lie. She _really_ had a nice figure. Her chest was enticing, soft-looking and large. She had _everything _I wanted. But… she wasn't the woman I wanted tonight, so I think I frowned at her.

"Your eyes are scary when you frown." She commented with a seductive smile. Nope. She wasn't giving up _that_ easily. "Let me make you smile… You looked cute from the other side of the bar." She spoke sweetly, but I wasn't stupid, I knew what she wanted. She didn't care about _me_ she just cared about sleeping with me and I was oddly sentimental tonight and wasn't going to have any of that. I looked at the drinks I was supposed to be protecting. I placed a hand on her shoulder and slightly pushed her off of me. I called over the bar-back with a wave of my hand.

The short, blonde girl with violet eyes skipped over and cocked her head to the side. I could tell she was looking at my sharingan. I hopes she didn't recognize what it was. She was a civilian so it wasn't likely that she knew.

"Put two empty glasses up-side-down at these two seats. I'll be back." I ingrained the command into her mind with genjutsu just to be sure she got it and she nodded after looking at the girl and then at me and then at the seats in front of me.

"No problem, sir." And she pulled two glasses and placed them upside down on the bar in front of me, taking away the drinks what's-his-name made. I turned back to the girl. She had one hand on my belt, the other on her hip in a manner that made her look mildly annoyed. She had a nice ass, but again, for some reason I wasn't fully turned on, even though she was nice to look at. Whatever, she was going to have her uses tonight anyway.

"You'll have to dance with me first." I smirked and let my sharingan fade away. She nearly _drooled_ at the sight of my eyes in their normal state and nodded, leading me towards where Sakura and what's-his-name were. I passed Shikamaru and Temari on my way to the dance floor. Shikamaru put a hand on my shoulder and gave the nameless girl an odd look when she glared at him.

"Sasuke, we're going home. I'll see you later." The Nara called over the music.

I shook his hand and nodded. "Ja-ne." I responded.

And then the most out-of-place thing happened: Temari, fully shitfaced, hugged me, breaking the girl's hold on my hand. I patted her back awkwardly because I had no idea what to do. She laughed _loudly_ in my ear and I was sure I'd be deaf for days thanks to that.

"You're not so bratty anymore, Sasuke." She rubbed my head too. Weird. "See 'ya round!" And she was gone, following after her boyfriend through the dancing crowd. I felt a tug on my shirt and kept walking after the girl. She pulled me into the crowd and we started to dance just as this song was starting to end. She liked the way I was moving. She was completely and _utterly _focused on trying to get me to look at her. Well, too bad for her. I slowly danced with her over to where Sakura and bartender-guy were.

Once I had drunk-girl positioned in front of bartender-guy I acted. I tripped her. Well, not really. I actually made it so she tripped over a _teeny tiny_ raised marble tile on the floor. Her heels were high enough and I tipped forward so she'd have to tip back a little, throwing her off balance on those six-inch heels _just_ as one of them notched at the edge of that tile I was talking about. Remember how I said I was artistic in the way I sabotaged and killed people? Yeah this was one of those moments. She screamed, and fell into bartender guy who wasn't drunk, so he had enough reflex to let go of Sakura's _fucking _hips already and catch the drunk girl. Then I grabbed Sakura and pulled her out of that part of the dance floor.

"S-Sasuke!" She sounded surprised behind me. I squeezed her hand tighter.

Once there were enough bodies in between me and Sakura, and drunk-girl and bartender-guy, I spun around and smirked. She was gaping at me and then she smirked too and laughed, just as the song ended and another started.

"You forget that I learn quickly and get bored easily, Sakura." I bent down, and whispered into her ear as I picked up from where bartender-guy left off of and placed my hands on her hips.

"So show me what you got, Uchiha." She whispered back and started moving her hips to a new song. Fuck her body _burned _beneath my hands. I wanted to touch the skin beneath her dress. I straightened up and started moving, mimicking what I learned from bartender-guy _perfectly_. It was really a lot of elbow movements and quick, successive foot work. Sakura threw her hands up and moved them in time to the subtler beats of the song just as the main beat dropped and got going.

I couldn't believe how tempting she managed to look; her exotic pink hair, bouncing around in time with the song, her eyes, half lidded, and shielding her retinas from the various random bouts of strobes and lasers, the small, _exhilarated _smile on her full lips... Sakura was having _fun_. This was the first time I had seen her have fun since… since before I abandoned Konoha. I felt _accomplished_. She was enjoying herself and she was enjoying herself with me. Perfect. The beat became harder and she started to fucking _play with her hair_. I used my imagination and improvised—no— _perfected _the moves bartender-guy used to fit the changed beat of the song. Some movements became sharper, others less pronounced. Sakura was surprised as she looked up at me and gave me a small smile as she ran her hands from her hair down her sides, spun, moved her mid section like a _fucking_ snake and wrapped her arms around her body then threw them up and leaned back. She moved her legs in an artistic way and was back in my face before long, elongating her hair and her body by running her hands all over herself.

Oh no, no, Sakura, to my knowledge touching you is _my_ job at this point. Confidently, I placed my hands atop hers and outlined her curves as we moved in tune to the song. My thumbs gently crossed over her hip bones and I couldn't help but wonder what she'd look like _without_ her clothes on. Little by little she moved even closer to me, growing more comfortable. Eventually, I could feel the heat from her body as she danced fully against me. The beat wound up and she spun her hips hypnotically as she trailed her hands down my chest, abs, and to my waist. Thankfully, she moved her hands _around _my dick and avoided it _just_ barely as her thin fingers_ sensually_ trailed lower. Yes, I had just associated "sensual" with "Sakura". Fuck it. It was the truth. Sakura had one of her hands up, the other on the floor as she popped her hip and moved to dance her way back up to her full height.

As the beat wound more I grabbed one of her hands and she spun her body back up like a snake rising from its basket, lifting the other arm to create a decorative move that fit the beat perfectly. And _just_ as she had turned to face me, the beat dropped again and she had her fists in my shirt by my shoulders, moving her body against mine once more. Hn, for someone who couldn't walk very well in heels she was fantastic at dancing in them. I grabbed the fabric of her dress and pulled her closer.

"You were always a quick learner, Sasuke." She whispered again, _sensually_, as she wrapped her arms around my neck, moving quickly to the fast-paced song.

"Hn." No doubt I had a pleased smirk on my face.

"Hm." She responded with a short, pleased laugh. She pulled away from my neck to my distaste, but she _looked_ at me as she danced with me. As in she actually _looked_ at _me_ not my body, or my face, or the strength of my chakra. She was looking at _Sasuke_, not "the rare man with fortune and strength". She was _smiling_ pleasantly at Sasuke _the person_, not Sasuke, _the guy everyone wants._ Suddenly I realized another song started playing and it had a more fun beat to it so I smiled as I improvised again, this time having more fun than the during the last song. This song was a bit more fluid and smooth. Sakura also moved her body in a happy, fun and sexy sort of way. This was definitely a song for the women to dance to, so I let Sakura do most of the work, which she gladly did, unintentionally showing off as she was having fun. And I can vouch for the "_unintentionally"_ part of that sentence. She wasn't even looking at me. She was just bouncing around, letting her hair fly all over her face and shoulders. She even _laughed_.

At the height of the song, she threw me that mischievous smirk that I was quickly starting to fall for. And true to the surprising nature that little smirk hinted at, Sakura turned around and grinded her ass right into my hips, throwing her arms up. Now… before you call me a pervert, how the fuck could I _not_ resist touching her sides, her hips, _and_ her ass? I'd be a masochistic madman if I didn't, so I did, nevermind the fact that I _used_ to be a masochistic madman… not anymore though. Slowly, while the same beat lasted, I slid my hands down her hands, arms, ribcage, snake-like waist, hips backside and thighs, enjoying every curve I traced, enjoying every beat of my frantic heart as I watched this beautiful, familiar woman thread her fingers through my hair and place her hand atop mine on her hip. Greedily, I wanted her to look at me the way I was looking at her. Artfully, I turned her around because I wanted to see her eyes. She playfully smiled at me and kept turning, no giving me what I wanted. I laughed and we moved around each other. Eventually I got her to face me again and another song started.

This one was also girly. Sakura threw her head around and I honestly didn't mind all the hair in my face. In fact, I was fascinated how her perfume had managed to soak into it without being overbearing. I steadily held onto her and we kept dancing. Another song came and went. The song after was another hard, electric one, so we danced with everything we had to it. It was fun. I had never imagined I would ever let Sakura touch me the way she was touching me, but I felt her all over my body and honestly didn't mind it one bit. Her fingers lingered on my biceps, triceps, and chest, and sometimes she would playfully jump away, but pull me towards her by the belt loop of my pants. She had this small but daring and confident smile on the entire time, and I couldn't help but be enticed by it. It made me want to kiss her. But no matter how drunk I was I knew where the line was. I wouldn't cross it until she actually wanted me to, or unless she crossed it herself. I actually found myself _wishing_ she would. Anyway, we danced for kami-sama knows how long until one calmer song came on. It was still fun but it was a sweet song, so we held each other while we danced.

"Sasuke…"

"Mm?" I loved the way she said my name. Forget about me missing her calling me "Sasuke-kun". My name sounded perfect as it rolled off of her tongue the way she said it just now… I wanted to make her call my name again and again and again but… let's not go there with that thought…

"We should get some more drinks…If we still have our spot at the bar." She spoke and I smirked, confidently.

"We have our spot at the bar, Sakura." I replied almost proudly, because despite how wasted I was I had still planned ahead and had our seats taken care of. I started to pull away from her to take her back to the bar, because that was obviously what she wanted, but she tightened her hold around my neck. Why did that feel so good? Why did she feel so good to me? It's like she fit me perfectly. I was losing my grip on myself, wasn't I? I was _definitely _lost in the haze of inebriation and _beyond_ lost in everything that was "Sakura".

"We can finish this song; don't be rude." She teased in a playful tone as she traced her nails across the back of my neck in a sexy way… I controlled my shudder, bit my lip and took a slow, deep breath… I wanted those nails digging into and dragging across my back, as perverted and inappropriate as that sounds…

"Oh excuse me, how shameful of me to forget my drunk-at-the-party manners." I replied sarcastically to cover for my physical reaction and she giggled in my ear as we continued dancing. All-too-quickly the song ended and I was comfortably leading her back to the bar, her fingers intertwined with mine. To my satisfaction, our seats were the only ones vacant at the crowded bar, but hey, they were _vacant_. The cups were gone from Shikamaru and Temari's spots. Surprisingly, the drunk girl I had completely forgotten about was now behind the bar, learning how to make drinks with bartender-guy. I let go of Sakura's hand as we took our places. Bartender-guy smiled at Sakura, apologetically, but she just smiled and shook her head in return. Good. She didn't care about him like _that_, at least not anymore if she did before.

He got two tall glasses out and remade the drinks I had abandoned when he had left to dance with her. Sakura and I drank that round down rather quickly. Another round of the Kirigakure Blue Moon was placed in front of us soon afterwards and Sakura decided that it was time to continue our game from before. I decided I liked the song that was playing so I tapped my foot discreetly, or what I _thought_ was discreetly, while she asked.

"Do you like dancing now?" Sakura grinned and I snorted because that was such an impersonal question to waste a question on.

"Yes." I drank and responded. "Do you think I dance well?" I asked, because only a tiny part of me was still unsure. It was also a stupid question to waste a question on, but I didn't care.

"You dance as well as you learn how to do anything else." She smiled. "Cheater." Then she stuck her tongue out as she pointed to her eyes and I got what she meant. I shrugged. I would say she was just jealous that she didn't have the same ability Uchiha were naturally born with, _but _I was eternally grateful that she hadn't been born an Uchiha, because if she was, A: She'd be dead right now. And B: She'd be bland-looking. Dark hair. Dark eyes. Boring. Bland. She was sexy the way she was with her outrageous hair and eye color. At least to me she was; to me and to a lot of other guys too, probably. I wasn't easy to charm and she had somehow managed it. If she had won me over, no doubt it would be easy for her to have every other guy wrapped around her finger if she wanted.

"If I wasn't a cheater we wouldn't have had fun just now." I retorted and sipped.

"Mn. Good point." She sipped too and smiled at the bar beneath her. "What was the most important thing I missed these last four years?" She asked. Good question. What had she missed? _Everything_. I smirked, though, because I knew a witty response to that question.

"My twenty-first birthday." I replied. "We were all _hammered_; I think you were in Kumo at that point. Naruto only told me because it was my birthday." I laughed to myself at all the other stupid shit he said that night as well. "We almost convinced Kakashi to take his mask off. _Almost_." I held my finger up, because that 'almost' was important. Kakashi, despite being absolutely _piss_ drunk, had managed to make us _think_ we were going to convince him. Then, as usual, he shat on our entire argument at the last second and refused to ever show us his face after that. Ever. It was great. And Sakura wasn't there. If she was I'm pretty sure we'd have seen Kakashi's face by now.

"What! I should have been there! I could have helped!" She exclaimed, upset with herself more than she was with me.

"On your birthday we'll try again. Make sure you're nice to him that entire week." I plotted evilly, making up for her unhappiness.

"That's like… in a month and a half…" She had to pause and think for a second because I'm pretty sure she was drunk and she forgot what day it was already. I laughed at her and she lightly shoved me because she knew _exactly_ what I was thinking.

"To your credit I forgot the date too." I revealed, because I really did. It was easy to forget in this sort of setting… with enough alcohol in our bodies to kill a fully-grown horse. She shook her head and laughed to herself as she sipped more. The entire room was starting to tilt back and forth a little and I knew I was reaching my limit. If I drank any more it would start to spin.

"Oi… Sasuke?" She spoke and my head snapped back to her. I tried not to think about how weird the room looked when I did that. It was almost like my eyes were having trouble catching up to the room… or the room was having trouble catching up to my eyes; I couldn't exactly discern which one was more accurate. She started laughing. "The room is moving!" She tried to hold in a giggle. I felt myself grinning.

"I know. It started doing that a few seconds ago. You're late." I replied and she laughed more.

"Okay, so who wins this?" She asked motioning to us and the drinks.

"I don't know I could drink more but it would have to be at home." I replied, because that was the honest answer. I could down a lot more before I blacked out, but I didn't exactly want to black out in a club and I'm sure Sakura didn't want to either.

"Yeah, maybe this was a bad place to have a contest." She frowned. I didn't like her frowning. I had seen her frown way too many times throughout our lives. No more frowning for Sakura.

"We'll make up for it another day. It's not like I'm moving any time soon." And that thought made me laugh because I was sitting here, at a club, enjoying myself with Sakura around hundreds of sweaty people because Sakura moved into the apartment next to mine. She joined me in my laughter.

"How fucking crazy is this? We're here because Naruto is an idiot." And she laughed harder. I put my head down and laughed into my arms until tears came out because she was so fucking right. Naruto was an idiot. And as a result we were here. Laughing our asses off at the fact that we're here because Naruto's an idiot. I was also laughing because we were thinking about the same thing, except she had phrased my thoughts in a more comical way.

"We should prank him." I spoke after wiping my eyes on my sleeve. Sakura was having a hard time not ruining her makeup while wiping her eyes, not that I could tell she had any on anyway. I reached over and thumbed away her tears for her, making sure I didn't leave any marks on her face. I wiped my fingers off on my pants as she laughed one last time.

"Thanks." She started. "And yeah, though, if we prank him it has to be something _good_. Naruto's the king of pranks, remember?"

"Ah." I nodded my head and concentrated on the glowing blue bar table beneath my hand as I sipped on my drink. "This should be the last drink, by the way." I commented. It really wouldn't turn out good if I had another.

"Agreed." She chirped back. We sat in silence for a while. All I could think about was her, and how she felt against me when we danced, how her body felt beneath my hands and even how warm she was now, the skin of her arm slightly pressed against mine… I was fucking horny, pranks be damned. I couldn't think straight enough to trap an animal let alone come up with something to trap _Naruto_.

"Who-whaaa!" Some girl crashed into Sakura, knocking her purse-thing off of the table. I jammed my hand in between Sakura's rib cage and the edge of the bar so she wouldn't get bruised. It didn't really hurt because I was drunk and it was just my hand, but I watched as her eyes flew to it in panic anyway.

"Shit." Sakura cursed. I shook my head. I was all right. She turned her eyes to the girl on the floor and slid off of her chair.

"Owww… my fucking head…" The girl wore a fluttery purple dress and had messy blonde hair. She had hit her head on the bar on her way down. Ouch. That was going to hurt in the morning. Sakura started to help and reassure the crying girl while I tried to find the small contents that had fallen out of Sakura's compact purse. Her money was still in it, luckily but I know I saw lipstick or something fall out of it. Smirking when I found the small, black tube, I placed it back into the little container and snapped it shut just as she lifted the girl to her feet. The blonde was _still _crying, but Sakura was gentle, despite being annoyed. Another quality of hers that I found attractive.

"I'm gonna dieeeeee! In my sleeeeeep!" She wailed. "I don't wanna die because of a concussion!"

"Relax, I'm a medic." Sakura rubbed her shoulder reassuringly. I smirked as I watched her, not embarrassed at all that I was holding onto a feminine mini-purse while casually leaning against a bar in a masculine way. She inhaled, then exhaled and summoned healing chakra to her hands after a few seconds. The chakra flickered awkwardly before it coated her hands in a steady glow. Hah… I wasn't the only slow one when I was drunk. She was too. The girl watched her in fascination as Sakura healed her head.

"Ugh, shit that was tiring." Sakura groaned as her hand dropped just moments later. "You should go home. Be careful. Hold onto the bar and the wall. Always hold onto something solid." She advised, holding up a finger. The blonde hugged her, crying in relief, wailing something about Sakura being an angel sent from heaven that she'd never forget and stumbled away, holding onto the bar. Sakura sat back down on her chair and I handed her the purse-thing. She smiled at me as I slowly, carefully lifted myself back up onto the bar stool. Last thing I needed was to fall on my face in front of Sakura too.

"I think we should put a bunch of naked girls in his apartment when we know he's going to go back there with Hinata-chan." She smirked into her drink as she finished the last few sips off. Oh right, I forgot what we were talking about. That's right: pranking Naruto. I was too turned on to prank Naruto right now.

"If I come up with anything better, I'll let you know." And I downed the rest of my drink because I needed to go home soon before I lost control and said something stupid; like exactly what was on my mind.

"One more dance before we go?" She tipped her head towards the dance floor and I looked at it, wearily. Would I be able to even coordinate properly? I flexed the fingers in my hand. Yep. I was definitely slow. And a little numb. If someone punched me right now I might not exactly feel it.

…Fuck it.

I shrugged and I got up. Sakura did too and I was sure she was swaying just a _little_ as we wove through the crowd one more time. We danced to a few more fun songs, not afraid of being personal and close like before, which I didn't mind because I got to touch her more.

Thankfully, the DJ's changed when it got late and the music started to suck _just _as I was starting to think my body couldn't take any more of her subtle teasing. A few more minutes and I think I was actually drunk enough to start kissing her. That wouldn't turn out okay in the morning. I could be persuasive when I put effort into it and Sakura was as drunk as I was. She'd probably kiss me back and we'd end up with one hell of a headache the next day, completely unrelated to a hangover. I actually _enjoyed _being around her, so I didn't want to ruin what we had built this last week by moving too far, too fast… Besides, I wanted to want her _sober_ too, just to triple-check and make sure I was really as attracted to her as I thought. And before you start getting politically correct, I already know I want her in a sexual way.

Tonight actually made me think I wanted _her_. Every part of her. As in, her _mind_ as well as her body. I needed to be sure that that was correct. Why? I don't know. I don't know why that's so important, considering what I feel doesn't really matter because Sakura probably wouldn't give me a chance anyway. But whatever, I forgot where I was going with that. Anyway, none of it matters. I'll figure it all out tomorrow when I can think straight.

We wove through the crowds and found or way back to the bar. Sakura, still swaying slightly, hugged bartender-guy, and wished him a good night while drunk-girl glared at her. Afterwards, bartender-guy shook my hand and gave me a cryptic warning look that I ignored. After the weird exchange that sort of annoyed me, we headed through more crowds and finally got to the door. Once we stepped outside, I noticed first that my ears were ringing and that the streets were emptier than before. The fireworks were done and the air was slightly smoky. Food stands were still open and operating, so I grabbed Sakura's hand and started dragging her towards the food, because I needed something bland to counter all the acid in my stomach, _now_.

"Onirigi, Sasuke! Onigiri is my favorite! Let's have that!" Sakura suggested as she realized what I was doing. I thought anmitsu was her favorite? Whatever, I smiled anyway because she was still having fun and because she was asking for nii-san's favorite dish. I took her to an onigiri stand.

"Welcome!" The man at the stand was dressed all in white and had a booming voice. He was hardy, grey-haired and middle-aged and seemed to have a good attitude. I would never admit this openly, but I liked people like that now. I used to hate people like that because they pissed me off, but I had changed my opinion years ago. "What can I made for such a lovely couple tonight?" He asked with vigor and kindness in his voice. I dropped Sakura's hand, awkwardly. Fuck, I forgot we were still holding hands. She laughed in good humor, unaffected by my slightly rude reaction and pointed at me.

"Gomenasai, ojii-san but we're not a couple." She giggled. "I think you just embarrassed my friend."

I rolled my eyes as the guy laughed along with her.

"My mistake! This one will be one the house then. What'll it be?" He asked.

"I'll take a salmon onigiri." Sakura smiled. I smiled to myself because that was exactly what Itachi-nii would get.

"Another salmon for me." I added.

"Coming right up!" His voice boomed again.

He turned around and put the onigiri together as Sakura fished money out of her purse-thing. I stopped her with a hand on top of the object and she frowned up at me.

"Let me." I _commanded_, because I was the man here and food was my idea. If she was going to tip the guy or pay for it anyway, _I_ should be the one to do it. She studied my face carefully and decided it wasn't worth arguing. The onigiri man turned around with our onigiri just as I placed a hefty tip in the tip jar by the register. The man was kind and he deserved it.

"Arigato!" Sakura beamed, but didn't risk bowing as she took the small cardboard box from the man. He smiled at her and nodded at me.

"You're welcome! Enjoy the rest of your night!" He called just as we left the stand. I looked at the moon but I was too drunk to be able to tell what time it was. It was fucking late; that's what it was. I was starting to feel like an old man and my balls were starting to hurt. Regardless, I wasn't going to let that affect me. I pulled her along until we found a wooden bench to crash on. I fell into it, stretching out on it as she stood in her heels, laughing away.

"What?" I asked. What was so funny? I smirked, because her laughter was contagious, but I decided against outright laughing because I didn't want to seem _that_ drunk.

"You left me on a bench and now you're making me sit on one with you." She pointed out and kept laughing. This was my chance to talk to her about that night, but I knew it would spoil her mood so I bit my tongue. Kakashi had taught me about perfect timing. Now wouldn't classify as "perfect timing". So I just shook my head and frowned.

"I'm sorry." I apologized genuinely and I felt _better_ at least getting that off of my chest. She shrugged, smiling lightheartedly and eased herself into the bench next to me with a relieved sigh.

"My feet are killing me." She complained as she opened the box and moved it so it faced me. I grabbed my onigiri and watched as she pulled hers out of the box.

"I can carry you if you want." I shrugged. You know by now that I wouldn't exactly _mind_ having her all over me…

"Nah, I'll make it home." She shook her head.

"Home is forty-five minutes away. Make sure you think that decision through thoroughly." I advised as I bit into my snack. I don't know if it's because I'm in a good mood, or if the onigiri is just that good, but I swear on my Uchiha lineage that this is the best onigiri I have ever tasted, second only to my mother's. And to top it all off, the rice and nori were bland enough to balance out the acidity I was feeling burning through my stomach. I stared down at the rice ball. This onigiri was unfortunate. I was pretty sure all of the alcohol I drank was instantly dissolving it as it hit my stomach. I almost shrugged to myself. Oh well. I continued munching as Sakura swallowed and responded to my advice.

"Temari did it. Why can't I?" She shrugged as she bit into her onigiri again. I shrugged back.

"You _can_ but you know as well as I do that you _shouldn't_." I clarified, because I was pretty sure her feet would be screaming in pain after walking down dirt roads for 45 minutes in heels like that. Shit, mine would be. I was eternally grateful I was born male and not female.

"You have no faith." She chastised. I snorted. Yeah okay, keep telling yourself stories, Sakura.

"You're welcome to try." I shrugged. "I won't stop you, but you complain once and it's game over." I threatened without venom. She laughed.

"Fine, you're on, but only because that girl sucked up what little chakra I had the concentration to summon; otherwise I'd be working on unsealing my other shoes." She frowned at the purse in her lap. Yeah, I'm giving up on figuring out that thing is called, by the way. She's a girl and that thing has her stuff in it. Thus, it's a purse from now on.

I chuckled. "You shouldn't have used such a complicated seal to seal your shoes in."

"I wasn't expecting you to keep up with me. I wasn't expecting to get this wasted." She revealed with a laugh. "Otherwise I would have used the most basic seal." She shrugged.

"So the contest is a tie?" I asked, because if she was as wasted as I was, we were evenly matched until we had the opportunity to drink until we black out… which I _still _wasn't looking forward to because my stomach was going to kill me after that too. Speaking of which, I needed water. We needed to get home, now. I waited for Sakura to finish, then took our trash, throwing it into a nearby trash can. I walked over and offered her my hand. She shook her head and stood up on her own two feet. Fine, Sakura, but if you fall don't blame me for laughing. I waited for her to stabilize herself before I started walking back towards Konoha.

"You think Naruto will make a great Hokage?" She began, now comfortable speaking to me. This walk back was different than the one we took to Hofuku… I liked it. It was nostalgic, easy-going and familiar.

"I think he'll make a _revolutionary_ Hokage… He'll have to be careful." 'Revolutionary' was the right word for my blonde brother. He would definitely bring about a change unlike any other.

"He's been different since Tsunade-sama took him under her wing." Sakura commented. "He's sharper. He's learning politics." She sounded somewhat worried. "I don't want him to get caught up in the mess…" She explained, as if she knew "the mess" really well.

"And you've been caught in it?" I asked, in a serious tone. It made sense that she would be. She was the godaime's apprentice. No doubt, Sakura had a hand in Konoha's politics throughout the years.

"It's not pretty, Sasuke. You know that." She replied softly. I wondered if she'd done anything she regretted. I looked over and her jade eyes were troubled. So I did something stupid; I gently shoved her.

"Wh~hoaaaa!" She started to fall, so I caught her by her forearm. What the fuck was I doing? She glared up at me, but I offered her a small smile because I didn't want her unhappy.

"You're supposed to be having fun, remember?" I explained. She turned, looked at the bustling town we were leaving and then looked back to me. She shook her head and laughed.

"I'm analytical, I can't help it." She revealed.

"I see that."

We continued walking. I shoved my hands in my pockets, because it felt like the comfortable thing to do. People passed us by, laughing and dancing on their way home. Somehow, I wished my brother could experience this sort of peace. Itachi would love it. I apologize, nii-san, about what I did, even though it's what you wanted in the end, anyway…

Sakura inhaled the scent on the warm breeze, distracting me from my thoughts. I looked over and she smiled at me.

"Summer is going to be long this year!" Now she grinned. "I'm going to take Naruto to the Crescent Moon Island for a vacation." She commented, then put on a snobbish tone of voice. "You're cordially invited, Uchiha-san."

"Hn. I'll think about it." I replied, pretending to be cold to the idea.

"What? Afraid that taking your shirt off will get you more marriage proposals?" She grinned evilly. My face felt hot. Actually, yes, that's _exactly_ what was probably going to happen. Shit, how many women had asked me to give them kids so far? Blech. Some of them were a lot older than me too. I shook my head.

"You don't know what it's like." I defended myself.

"No I don't." She replied. "But I'd probably be a little freaked out if a guy came up to me and asked me to bear his children. I can only imagine what you must feel like." And she started laughing, as if my situation was comical to her.

"Shut up, Sakura." I shot back half-heartedly. She was still giggling. I rolled my eyes. It really _wasn't_ funny. I got enough shit about it from Naruto.

"Do you even plan on having kids?" She suddenly asked. The question made me confused, now that I saw _her_ in a different light.

"I don't think it's a good idea." I replied wearily.

"I'm not _asking_ to have your kids for you, dummy. I'm asking you if you personally _want_ kids for _yourself_." She clarified, because maybe I came off too tense to her.

"I _know_ you're not." I wasn't _stupid_ I knew she was _way_ over me. "But really, I don't think it's a good idea." I insisted. I looked at my hands. I was cursed. At least, my genes and my blood were, so why have a kid? To ruin his life and the lives of everyone around him? What if he became as hateful as I was or as Obito was for some stupid reason? Would I have to kill my own son to prevent a war like Itachi killed his own family? No. That was fucked up. Why continue the cycle if it could end at me?

"I think Naruto should have kids. I'd have fun being Auntie Sakura." Sakura thankfully changed the subject and diverted my negative thoughts to more comical ones.

"Tch, they'd call you names. You know how Naruto is, no doubt his kids would be the same." Because at least _one_ of his kids would _definitely _turn out like him. They couldn't _all_ be as well-mannered and good-natured as Hinata, of course. And at this Sakura laughed.

We walked in a comfortable silence until at about eight-tenths of the way, when Sakura must have stepped wrong or something.

"Fuuuuck!" She suddenly shrieked. I snapped my head to the side just in time to see her ankle crumple beneath her leg. She was falling towards me, so I caught her. She was warm and small in my arms and I loved the feeling of her hands caressing my shoulders.

"Enough is enough." I put my foot down and she glared up at me. I glared back down at her. "On my back. Now." I commanded.

"It's not sprained!" She insisted. "I just stepped wrong."

"Good, then you can take two steps to move behind me so I can carry you." I snapped back, unrelenting. She gaped up at me and I gave her an impatient look back.

"No." She stubbornly defied with an attitude in her tone.

"Fine." I lifted her up and she squeaked in surprise.

"S-Sasukeeeee!" She wailed, cheeks bright pink. "This is _so_ embarrassing! Stop!" She smacked my chest but the skin beneath only stung minorly.

"Hn. No." I defied her like she defied me and she was powerless to really do anything about it, because without her chakra-enhanced strength I was stronger than she was. She wasn't really trying that hard anyway, physically at least. But, Sakura was smart and she _knew _her voice annoyed me and got me to do things more than her fists ever could…

"Sasuke, _pleaeeeeease_! What if the guards at the gates see!? They'll get the wrong idea and I don't exactly feel like being hated by all women of the Fire Country! Come ooooon!" She tried to shake me but she only managed to pull on my shirt as I continued walking. She was quiet after I ignored her, thank Kami-sama, but that was all just because she started to plot.

"If I agree to stay on your back will you let me down?" I stopped and looked at her as she asked, innocently. She looked and sounded so genuine and I was still drunk, so without really thinking, I nodded and set her down. I bent at my knees and listened as she walked around me. She bent down once she was behind me to rub the skin at her ankles, or so I_ thought_… Because the next thing she did was kick me behind my knee. My leg crumpled as she started cackling and for the first time in my entire twenty-one years of life I was down on one knee because of the wits of a single _woman_.

"Last one to Konoha has to do give Naruto a pedicure!" She moved to leap over me, now completely out of her heels, but I grabbed her leg before she could leapfrog over me. She shrieked in the middle of the quiet road and fell forward. Fuck I hadn't thought this through completely, I just acted on reflex. Her dress got caught on the back of my head and we both rolled forward, and then wrestled each other to the side of the road. I ended up on top of her, pinning her wrists to the ground, breathing heavily. Sakura was strong when she put effort into it. Despite that, she still felt so delicate beneath my body, on this road under the dim streetlight. I felt my face get hot, imagining us like this, except maybe in a bedroom, on a bed. Her chest was also heaving up and down with the need for air, rising to touch mine softly, then falling back down. I wanted her to feel as nervous as I did, but she looked completely unfazed; staring up at me, still giggling at her botched escape attempt.

"No one will be giving Naruto any pedicures." I deadpanned and she started laughing stupidly at me, because in my "I will kill you all" tone that sentence sounded… _comical_… even to me.

"Sasuke… my dress is getting dirty." She suddenly frowned and I smirked. Good.

"That's what you get for being childish." I replied. She pouted in response.

"But it would have worked if your chicken-hair hadn't gotten in the way!" She argued and tried to move her arms in response. Her hips bucked beneath mine and I had to grit my teeth and bite down on my tongue because I was so afraid she would feel me get hard.

"Do it again and I swear, Sakura I'll go to every woman who has asked me to be the Uchiha matriarch in the last year and give them your name and your picture and tell them I am formally rejecting all of them in favor of you." I threatened and Sakura paled.

"Let's… not get _extreme…_Sasuke, ne?" She smiled nervously.

"Is that a promise of compliance?" I checked, because I had to be sure. She nodded and I released her, as much to my relief as to hers. Let's try this again. I bent over after she stood and this time around she climbed up on my back. I lifted her with ease, grimacing because my hands felt wonderful on her bare thighs. I walked over to the red heels she abandoned.

"Hang on." I instructed and she wrapped her legs around my waist and tightened her hold around my shoulders. I let go one of her thighs to grab the heels by their straps. Once I had those I placed my hand back on her thigh and continued walking as she let her legs dangle in front of me. She started giggling and I had no idea why. I was getting pissed off, not at her, but at myself for being so sexually frustrated. I was ready to explode and I needed to get home so I could jack off already.

"What?" I asked and she took pieces of her hair and tickled my face with them. I shook my head.

"Sakura, _stop_." Because really, how much more could she entice me with? This was torture.

"That's what your chicken hair is doing to me." She commented with a laugh.

"So put your face somewhere else." I felt my face get hotter. It wasn't _my_ fault my hair stood up back there. Fuck, kami-sama why couldn't Itachi have been born with my cowlicks?

"Okay." I felt her shrug and she placed her warm cheek against mine. Her breasts were pressing against my back and I desperately just wanted to go home. Sakura was dangerous to my sanity and control… _very_ dangerous. Her hair fell down my shirt and tickled my chest as I picked up my pace, trying not to imagine that same pink hair splayed out on my pillow, or remember her soft breath against my neck as we danced earlier. Konoha was only about five minutes away.

We reached the gates quicker than that, and the gate guards stopped us. After seeing that it was us and checking our chakra to double check that it was actually us, they let us through, quietly, because Sakura pretended to be sleeping to avoid making conversation that she knew I didn't really want to make; smart woman. Once we were far away enough, she began to talk again.

"You're welcome." She spoke, peeved that I didn't thank her for faking sleep. I could smell the liquor from her lips. I wasn't disappointed though, because I'm sure she could smell it on me too. I was still very drunk and I was thoroughly amazed that I hadn't fallen, tripped, or made out with Sakura… yet. I began to get nervous as we neared our apartment complex.

"Hn. Thank you." I replied quietly, not wanting my voice to echo off of the houses around us.

"Much better." She whispered into my ear, making me shudder. She sounded so seductive. I wondered if she was as turned on as I was. I wouldn't be surprised if she was. No normal human being would be unaffected after we touched each other all over at a club, dancing to that kind of music. I carried her up the stairs, again, amazed that I didn't fall backwards; amazed that she trusted me not to fall backwards. I think I didn't fall backwards because she trusted me not to. Whatever. I didn't fall backwards. I was so tired. So sleepy. All I wanted to do was sleep. But Kami-sama wasn't that kind to me. I set Sakura down and watched from the corner of my eye as she fixed her dress, pulling it down to cover her alluring legs because it had ridden up while she was on my back. She was rifling through her purse.

"Sasuke?" She asked, a slightly worried tone to her voice.

"Mn?" I turned to her, the key to my apartment in my hand, ready to turn that knob, walk through that door, masturbate vigorously and go to bed. _Bed_. Where I would _sleep_. Peacefully. But no. Life was never that easy for Uchiha Sasuke. I should have known.

"Did… did my key fall out of my clutch at Hofuku?" She asked, worried and dug through the purse more. Oh. So it was called a _clutch_. Hmm…

"I didn't see one. I saw your lipstick fall out." I really didn't remember seeing a key fall out. But again, the lights were flashing and I was _really _drunk. I probably really just missed it.

"Shi_t_." She cursed to herself. She eventually turned the thing upside down and dumped her sealing paper, money and the lipstick on the floor. She shook the clutch. Nothing else came out. Dumbly, I picked up her stuff once again; checking twice to make sure that I had gotten everything this time around. When I bent up I saw her frowning.

"Well, fuck. I have to go to Naruto's now. My shoes please?" She stuck her hand out and I looked from her shoes to her hand. Was she crazy? Naruto's apartment was on the other side of Konoha. What the _fuck_ would Hinata think if she found her there the next morning? I clutched her shoes to my chest as if having no shoes would actually stop her from going.

"You're not going there." I explained calmly, because I wasn't going to let her.

"Naruto's apartment is the only other place I can stay. This isn't a joke. I need to sleep. Now." She put her hands on the hips I was caressing earlier that night. Fuck. I _really_ didn't want her going there. Why? I don't know. Naruto was trustworthy. He wouldn't do anything weird, it was just _something_ was telling me not to let her leave.

"So sleep at my apartment. You're right here." I snapped back, feigning annoying to cover for that weird little voice in the back of my head.

She looked at her apartment, then at my apartment.

"Fuck, I wish I could just… knock the door down…" She looked at her fist and I covered it with my hand. The land lady would kick us _both_ out if she did that. _Both of us_.

"Just call them in the morning and have a locksmith change your locks. Get a new key. Stay here." I reiterated. Just fucking stay here Sakura. My instincts are never wrong.

"You realize that changing the locks will take a week, right? I'll be trolling all over your space for a week. I don't think you can handle that. Let me go to Naruto's instead." She replied nonchalantly. I was getting annoyed now.

"Just fucking stay." I was done arguing. I was tired. I wanted to go to sleep.

She looked at me with a stunned look on her face. Fuck. Shit. I didn't _mean _to curse at her.

"Sorry." I pinched the bridge of my nose with my fingers and to my surprise she laughed.

"Awwwwww wittle Sasuke-_chan_ is tiiiiiired…" She cooed. "How cute!" She reached up and pinched my cheek before I could smack her hand away, missing horribly when I finally reacted, anyway. She laughed again.

"Okay open your door, dummy. I'm tired too." I frowned at her for calling me stupid, but I turned and opened my apartment. I let her in first. She stepped inside. I shut and locked the door behind us. I turned to find her going to the living room. Hell _no _she wasn't going to sleep on my _expensive _leather couch in her dirt-covered dress. No.

"Sakura stop." Her ass was about a foot away from my couch. She froze, eyes wide, probably worried that I had actually boobie-trapped my apartment. I smirked. "If you put your ass on that couch I'll make you sorry." I threatened. She stood up and spun around, hands on her hips again.

"_What_." She hissed with narrowed eyes.

"Your dress is dirty and that couch is expensive." I pointed out and walked over to my bedroom. I opened the door and stepped inside. Clothes. I had to get her clothes of some sort that would fit her. Would clothes from when I was seventeen work? I rifled through my drawers. I found the smallest shirt I owned that had shrunk a little in the wash a while ago and a pair of boxers that thankfully had a button in the front so they wouldn't open up on her in the middle of the night. I turned around with the clothes and she was leaning against my door frame tiredly. I still had her shoes. She was smirking at them. Yes, I probably _did_ look out of place, walking around my apartment with a pair of sexy, red heels in hand. I gave her the clothes. She took them with a grateful smile.

"The bathroom is through that door, next to the living room wall." I instructed

"I know. I figured your apartment directly mirrored mine." She shrugged and I walked past her to put her shoes and mine at the entrance.

"Do you have towels in there?" She asked.

"Ah." I called over my shoulder. Water. I needed water now. I prayed she wouldn't take too long showering because I needed to piss really bad. I needed to jack off too. Kami-sama why me? I glared up at the ceiling to accentuate my point. I heard the bathroom door click shut. Not long after, the shower started. I found a jug of filtered water in my refrigerator. I drank it down like I had just spent a week lost in the deserts surrounding Suna. Water… _Water_. Water was amazing. I leaned against my kitchen counter. About ten minutes later Sakura walked out in my old clothes. The shirt was still baggy on her and covered the shorts completely. She looked like she was naked… in just my shirt, her hair still wet and clinging around her breasts and face… _Fuck_. I'm an idiot. I almost smacked my forehead with my palm. I was really stupid. I was also masochistic, doing this to myself. Why was I doing this to myself? I should have told her to go take a hike, but now she smelled like herself, just covered in a lot of what smelled like _me_… looking half _fucking _naked in _my _clothes. Black looked good on her skin. It accentuated her eyes and her hair.

I moved towards my bathroom, carefully. "Just find a place to crash on." I mumbled as I walked past her.

"Okay, thanks Sasuke." Because I'm an idiot, I turned around to find her head turned, looking at me with her beautiful, wide, green eyes, the Uchiha fan displayed almost proudly on her back, only slightly obstructed by her pink strands of hair. I turned red and nodded, tearing my eyes away before my body decided to come up with other ideas.

I stepped onto the cool, white tiles, and closed the bathroom door behind me in relief. Ah sweet, kami-sama my _bathroom_. I was safe from temptation here. I turned on the shower, did my business in the toilet, jacked off in the shower to avoid problems later and to clear my stupid head, and washed myself down. Feeling six thousand times better than before, I stepped out of my shower and realized that in my _stupidity_ I forgot to grab clothes. Fuck. It never ends, I swear. I grimaced at my clothes on the floor. No way. I'm not putting those back on. I just showered. I wrapped my white towel around my waste, since Sakura had used my red one, and stealthily stepped out. The living room and the kitchen were both dark.

Okay… Sakura had turned the lights off… My eyes hadn't adjusted to the dark yet, but I assumed she was crashing on the couch, asleep already. I flicked the light from the bathroom off and walked towards my bedroom, only bumping into the kitchen table on my way there. I flicked my light on, and glared holes through Sakura's—Yes, _Sakura's—_ pink head.

She was under _my _covers, sleeping peacefully… _on my fucking bed_. _My. _Fucking. Bed. _Mine._ I rolled my eyes. I would have to wake her up and _make _her move at this rate. I remembered my nakedness suddenly and stealthily, I grabbed my black pajama pants and ran back to the bathroom before she could wake up, see me in my towel and accuse me of being a pervert. I dressed, hung my towel next to the one she hung on the towel rack and strode right back in my room. The light wasn't waking her up, so I bent down next to my full-twin bed and shook her.

"Mnah. Naruto fucking _stop_." She grumbled and somehow managed to be relatively accurate as she tried to swat my face in a big, sloppy movement that told me she was still as drunk as I was.

"Sakura it's not Naruto, it's _me_, now stop fucking around and get out of my bed." I asserted, though, I lowered my voice to not wake up the neighbors beneath us. She turned around. _She fucking turned around! _Fine. Two could play at that game. That was _my_ fucking bed. _I _was going to sleep in it, morning consequences be damned. I pushed her over one more time, centering my hands at her lower back and she grumbled again.

"M~Okay, okay! … Get a bigger fucking bed…" I guess she went to Naruto's a lot when she was this drunk. Whatever, I climbed in under the covers next to her. I was too tired for all this shit. I fell asleep facing away from her, praying I would face that way until morning.

-X-

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA The next chapter should be fun to write. I love throwing Sasuke and Sakura into awkward scenarios. I hope you guys liked this chapter! Please review!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I make no money writing this.

See 'ya later, Space Cowboy!


	11. Pictures

KISEKI

|11|

-X-

Ugh… I actually had a hangover… there had to be _a lot_ of sugar in what Aki-kun made last night. I didn't wanna open my eyes. If I opened my eyes; I'd definitely burn my eye balls out of my head. So I moved to get up instead. I couldn't. Fuck. I tried again. Something was holding me down. Where the fuck am I?

"Mmrnph…"

I froze. That was… that was a _really _masculine-sounding voice. As I focused and woke up more, a heartbeat registered against my back. Thump-thump. Thump-thump. Thump-thump. Whoever he was he was healthy, ig his resting heart rate was anything to go by. If anything he was in pique form. His steady deep breaths registered right behind my ear and I felt soft, _hot_ breaths rolling over the skin of my neck. I realized he was laying down on my hair, too, and for some reason, I didn't _smell _like myself. I smelled different. Everything was different and it all pointed to the worst possible scenario. My eyes flew open, heart thudding wildly in my panic.

My sight cleared to find that I was staring at a blank wall. Fuck. That told me nothing. Something warm and sinfully rough rubbed against my stomach. I froze again. I looked down. There was a _fucking _hand. _Under_ my shirt. It was masculine and beautiful as far as bone structure went, but that was of no comfort to me. It didn't help that that hand was attached to a muscled arm. I had probably given in and slept with a shinobi, but with which one!? What the _fuck_ happened last night? I remembered… I remembered… dancing.

I danced with Sasuke! Wait… _Sasuke_ carried me home! So where am I and why am I facing a wall, covered by some man wearing his _fucking _annoying high-collared clothes!? Wait… a high collar with a zipper in the front…I looked down at my shirt and my breath caught in my throat… No… we couldn't… we didn't… I craned my head back a little, tugging my hair free from under the man's head. Please kami-sama tell me I slept with a stranger and not Sasuke… I gaped as my eyes flew over a head of messy, navy-black hair, a straight nose and a peaceful expression.

Sasuke.

Sasuke.

_Sasuke_…

…

..

.

Okay Sakura… don't panic… you're still clothed. You're _clothed_. Which means, we probably _didn't_ have sex. But then why do I smell like him? My hair felt clean so I know I used his shower. So… did we have sex or did I just use his shower? Sometimes I showered at the guy's place after I had a one night stand. _Sometimes_. So… did I just make the biggest mistake in my whole entire life? I stared at Sasuke's peacefully sleeping face as if it would actually give me answers. My eyes flew past him and I leaned up to study his room. The walls were white and the carpet was a dark blue. Everything smelled clean with a bit of Sasuke on it. You couldn't really rid your home of your own scent unless you bleached it every day. There was a desk against the wall opposite of us, a window not too far away from the bed and a closet next to the desk. I could see my little red and white clutch sitting on the edge of his nightstand directly next to his bed… There was a hamper next to the closet door _still_ filled with a huge pile of clothes, but the white and red color scheme at the very top caught my eye… shit. Shit. That was _not_ a good sign.

My dress was in his hamper. _My_ dress from last night… was in _his_ hamper… Please, kami-sama for all that is good in this world, please tell me Sasuke and I didn't have sex! I searched frantically through my memories. I think I remembered using his shower. And his mouthwash. Okay, okay, good. I was on the right—

Oh fuckfuckfuckfuck_fuck! _ He smiled peacefully in his sleep as his fingers trailed over my ribcage just under my breasts. Sasuke what the _fuck_ are you doing!? I stared at him with a horror-filled expression on my face. I quickly turned my body back around and squished my breasts together barring his hand's path with my arm. He pushed against my arm to feel more of my skin, grumbled in his sleep and then gave up. He settled for less and went back to rubbing my fucking stomach, but believe me you, it was _nothing_ I could laugh at. His touch was warm, sensual and gentle. He touched me in a way that was definitely making me wet. He touched me in a way that made me want his hands _everywhere_.

Damn… if he's _this _sexy when he's asleep… how amazing is he when he's awake? If we had sex already should I just wake him up for morning sex? Wait! Stop! Stop thinking that! Bad thoughts, Sakura! I tried not to focus on what my stupid brain was trying to reason with me.

I almost groaned to myself as he ran his thumb over the scar on my stomach. Kami-sama, _Sasuke_ I am _not_ Buddha! Stop it already! I wanted to cry because I was so unfairly turned on, especially after I remembered that he had touched me like that on the dance floor too... His hands felt powerful and masculine on my soft skin. It was so sexy. I remembered his fingers running over the skin of my arms and thighs last night too… He had been gentle then, so gentle I didn't actually think it was possible for someone as strong as he is, but he did it. Ugh… kami-sama… why me? Mmmmn… his thumb was now rubbing my hip bone. His callouses turned me on, reminding me of what he was. I was starting to squirm and pant because I was _really _turned on. There was a need burning between my legs and it was like nothing I'd ever experienced before. This was _not_ fair.

Okay, okay, I have to think. I have to focus. I have to _sneak_ away without waking him up. It will be awkward if he wakes up. If he wakes up… will he think we had sex too? What were we even doing in the same bed!? How did we end up here!? What were we thinking!? Why wasn't I home!? Shit. My key! I remembered that I lost my key. So why didn't I just go to Naruto's?

"_Just fucking stay_." Oh… right. Okay. This is good. These are memories. What happened next, Sakura? Think. He gave me his clothes… I think. That's right he gave me his clothes because I remembered how gay he looked carrying around my heels in his apartment, as if he was planning on wearing them. I snorted at the memory.

"Mn…S'kura…" Shit… I almost woke him.

Okay, maybe I could put a genjutsu somewhere around him so he'd fall into it when he wakes up… Would he notice if I put a genjutsu on his surroundings… he probably would; he's _Sasuke_, duh. But how _long_ would it take him to notice, especially since he'd be waking up to one? Would it be long enough to give me time to, um, disentangle us?

But wait, I probably couldn't even _use_ my chakra. Sasuke was a _shinobi_. His instincts would be to wake up _immediately _upon sensing a foreign chakra so near hi— Aa~ah! He slid his hand down the curve of my side and over my thigh, then back up to my hip and started stroking my hip over the shorts I was wearing. At first I was worried that he'd end up pulling my shorts off completely on accident but then, I heard him speak.

"Mn~S'kura… Go back t'sleep…" He was _petting _me in his drunken sleep so I would fall back asleep.

"Sasuke…" I whispered. Hoping he'd stay asleep.

"Mm?" His eyes were still closed as I slightly turned to look at him. He snuggled his face further into my hair and I couldn't describe the action as anything but "adborable".

"Did we have sex?" I asked. Please stay half-asleep… please stay half asleep…

"'M not…" There was a small frown on his face. "'N asshole…like Y'manaka…" I smiled at him. I could kiss him even if he called Suchiru an asshole. He hadn't slept with me. He didn't take advantage of me.

Now relieved, I noticed it was still sort-of dark outside. The light coming through the crack in the curtains was somewhat faint. Fuck it; Sasuke was comfortable, so I closed my eyes and snuggled further into him. I mean, whatever, It's not like I hadn't slept next to Naruto before, anyway. As turned on as I was, I ignored that fact and I even _boldly_ turned around in his arms. I wasn't afraid of him anymore. Sasuke was my _friend_ now. We had moved on. The past was the past.

I giggled because he was _dead_ asleep now. He wrapped his arms around me and I pressed my head against his chest. He combed my hair out of his face, a little roughly, but he still patted my head and it felt _nice_. I took advantage of the moment and allowed his breathing, his warmth and his heartbeat to lull me back to sleep. It had been forever since I had someone to cuddle with to chase away the nightmares. I might as well enjoy the situation and get a full night's sleep.

-X-

I awoke some time later to the feeling of someone rubbing my back. It was so nice and comforting...

"Mmmm…" I felt myself smile in my half-asleep state. Imagine the softest, warmest fuzziest blanket you own. Okay good. Now imagine being wrapped around in that blanket with a cup of hot chocolate on a cold, snowy day... with your favorite fuzzy animal curled up on a comfy arm chair with you. _That's _how comfortable I felt right now. This… this was _glorious_.

"Sakura…" The voice was trying to pull me away from my happy place. It was a beautiful voice and my heart fluttered a little but fuck it; sleep was more important. I was dreaming about being a bridesmaid in Kakashi and Kurenai's wedding. They were about to say their vows.

"Mnn no…" I childishly argued back. Shut up, I want to hear them say "I do" and promise themselves to each other…

"Sakura wake up." It sounded like Sasuke. He always liked to ruin things for me.

"No." I wasn't going to let him ruin Kakashi-sensei's wedding, no matter how good he looked standing across from me during it.

The comfortable rubbing stopped. I frowned. Wait, why was I hearing Sasuke, so clearly again? Shit! My eyes flew open. Yep. There was a _really_ sexy naked torso, all on display for me. Shit. My eyes roamed from the shoulder all the way down to the "v" at the waistband. Oh my God. It should be illegal to be that good-looking. It could cause heart attacks.

The memories suddenly came back, however. That's right; Sasuke and I had fallen asleep together. Okay… relax… teammates do this sort of thing… Sasuke's a _bro_ Sakura. Calm the _hell_ down! We didn't have sex, either. I pulled away and gave him a confused look, because I was really confused as to how he got into his bed next to me. I wanted to know how that happened.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"_You_ commandeered _my_ bed." He glared at me with his sexy half-lidded tired eyes, and spoke in his sexy tired voice. Nothing was sexier than a guy's 'tired' voice. I don't care what you say. "I came to take it back and we had a stalemate." He explained.

Oh that's right. I stole his bed. I forgot about that part. I smirked at him.

"Your couch doesn't have blankets and you told me to find a place to crash so I did." I shrugged so eternally grateful that more memories were coming back. Sasuke had never kissed me. Not once. He had never touched me. I remembered feeling his eyes on me, but he never did anything sexual with me. Good.

"I would have given you blankets if you had waited for me to finish showering." He explained. Was he mad?

"Don't be mad because I outsmarted you." I stuck my tongue out at him and he moved to grab it between his fingers. Scared, I stuck it back in my mouth before he could catch it.

"I'm not mad. But you have to stay here a week, remember? This is _my_ bed." He explained, now more awake than before. I frowned. That's right, I might as well just stay here until my lock is changed and I have a new key. But aside from that…

"You've never shared a bed with anyone before?" I asked.

"Not platonically." He responded blatantly. I smacked his chest for saying something so lewd. I didn't need to know that, even if his witty response was funny. I smirked. He smirked. The smack echoed throughout the quiet room. His nipples got hard. I refused to allow my peripheral vision to coax my brain into making my eyes look at his body. I studied the familiar necklace on his neck instead. Since when did Sasuke start wearing a necklace?

**But what else turns him on…? Obviously he likes it rough…**

Shut _up_, inner. You never fail to piss me off. I spoke to get my mind off of Sasuke and everything that I could possibly do to make him crumble under the pressure of sex so he'd sleep with me because I _really _needed relief right now. That was a selfish, horrible thought that would ruin the friendship we'd somehow made.

"Well you're about to, because I'm not couching for the next week, no way." He studied my face, the wall behind me and the ceiling before his eyes fell on my face again.

"Fine just don't rape me in my sleep." He shrugged with no meaning behind his words. He didn't know how spot on he was, though… Sex and the need for it could make you think some crazy things… Anyway, I was glad that he really didn't care. There was nothing between us and we could safely joke about things like that. We were just friends. Good. He got the point. I got the point. Yay.

"It wouldn't be rape. You'd enjoy it." I snickered, because I loved tossing around my confidence. It felt great.

"Hah, all right, don't get ahead of yourself, Sakura." And with that sarcasm and a smirk he got up as I playfully stuck my tongue out at him again. I rolled over on his bed and went back to sleep because it was only nine in the morning and I still felt tired from last night. My feet still hurt. I got maybe ten more minutes of sleep before he was back in his room, shaking my shoulder. I threw both of his pillows at him one after the other before I was finally, fully awake. He managed dodged them both and I glared at him as he stood there with his arms crossed, his pillows at either side of him on the floor.

"My stomach is on fire, hurry up and heal it." He paused a minute and rolled his eyes. "Please." He added afterwards. Oh right, I had said I would. I rubbed my eyes with my palms and stood up, shamelessly stretching in front of him. His clothes were way more comfortable than Naruto's. Next time I needed improvised pajamas I would know who to go to. I walked up to him, trying hard to ignore how hot he looked, half naked in his fucking pajamas with that fucking "V" cut on his abs right above his waist band. I placed my glowing hands on his stomach, and started to level out the acidity with my chakra. I soothed the lining of his stomach as well, helped it build more mucus to protect itself from all the horrible, acidic foods he liked to eat. After I was done I yawned. I eyed his bed, but there was no way I'd fall asleep now. I was way too awake.

"We should eat. Are you hungry?" I asked, not even caring that my hair probably looked like shit. What did Sasuke care anyway? Regardless, I wanted a hair tie just to pull the mess of hair out of my face, but I knew better than to ask Sasuke for one. He most likely didn't have any. Speaking of which, how was I going to get clothes for this week? All I had was my dirt-stained dress from last night, my heels and Sasuke's spare clothes from when he was like, seventeen!

"Ah. I think I have some rice in the cabinet." He nodded.

"Any fish? Eggs? Meat? Protein?" I asked. He shrugged, looking at the ceiling to avoid my gaze for some reason. I frowned and walked past him, out of his room, and to his refrigerator. I opened the door. Ugh. No meat. Nothing. He had a jug of water that I remembered downing the rest of last night. It sat next to a single, lonely tomato... That poor tomato… it was there, all by itself in this bleak _wasteland_ Sasuke calls his fridge… I felt bad for it before I remembered how hungry I was. I almost slammed the doot shut in anger and walked over to his pantry. Damn my stupid teammates and their careless eating habits.

"What?" He asked behind me as I was trying to reach the bag of rice _way_ above my head.

"You…" I jumped. I couldn't reach the bag. "Ugh fuck— and Naruto…" I jumped again for the bag of rice, determined to reach it. "…both suck at taking care of yourselves!" I jumped with extra vigor and ended up almost falling into the shelves. Thankfully just then he made an exasperated sound, pulled me backwards by my—_his_, sorry by _his_ shirt, and allowed me to stumble into him safely before he reached up and grabbed the rice. Fucking stupid tall Uchiha, acting so cool… He handed it to me. I took it from him.

"Thank you." I spoke quickly and then rifled around his kitchen, opening several cabinets around his stove, looking for a pot or something to put the rice in. He watched me struggle in fascination. I suddenly stopped because I was starving and not in the mood to entertain him with my aggravation.

"You know, you _could_ direct me to a pot." I turned around and faced his blank expression. His eyes quickly looked over me and then he smirked and crossed his sexy toned arms across his chest. He closed his eyes and nodded, then opened them again and spoke.

"I _could_…" He began, and then shrugged. "But it's more entertaining watching you struggle." I glared at him and continued looking after turning around. Kiss my _ass_ Sasuke I won't fight with you because you want me to. He sighed. "Sakura, they're directly above the stove." He gave in quickly and supplied. I turned around and glowered at him. I couldn't even _reach _that cabinet's knob, let alone get the pot from it!

"Who puts their pots _above _the stove!?" I exclaimed, throwing my hand towards the cabinet the pot was supposedly in.

"Tall people do." He responded easily and opened the cabinet. He reached up and pulled down a perfect-sized metal pot and a blue lid that matched it. I took it from him and placed it on the stove.

"Do you have a measuring cup and some oil?" I asked, leaving most of the venom out of my tone. Food was only about a half hour away. Yes!

He nodded and finally moved his beautiful, lazy ass to go get me what I needed. Once I had the measuring cup, I measured out one cup of rice, one and a half cups of water and just a little bit of oil, dumped it all into the pot, and set the burner on the stove on "high". And now we wait. I leaned on his counter. He leaned on the counter opposite of me like he did yesterday. We stared at each other for a moment.

"I don't suppose you can pick my lock?" I asked with a cocked brow.

"I don't have the tools for it. You also have a modern lock from the best lock company. It'll never just get picked open." He commented. Oh, nice of him to notice I had a badass lock. I picked it out myself because I'm _intelligent_.

"Well, you need to get me clothes. Or get me someone who can get me clothes… preferably in secret… because I can't walk out like this and I need to tell the landlady that I need a new lock and key." I complained, while I tugged on the neck of the shirt he gave me. The high collar of it felt suffocating. I lowered the zipper to get it off of my neck and allow me a little more room to breathe. The shirt was good if you wanted to protect your neck from shuriken and knives, bad if you were Haruno Sakura and stuck in it while having a bad hair day at Uchiha Sasuke's apartment.

"I could get Ino." He suggested with a smirk.

"Are you crazy!" I snapped, my heart panicking at the _thought_ of Ino learning that I was stuck in Sasuke's apartment, wearing _his _clothes. He chuckled. Oh. It was a joke. I used my bare foot to nudge his hip for revenge. He swatted it away. "That wasn't funny." I glared. But if you thought about it, it actually was. Plus, Uchiha Sasuke had _actually_ found a sense of humor. He would never cease to amaze me.

"It was." He pointed out the truth, but moved on. "I could ask Naruto or Kakashi." He suggested because he trusted them.

"They're friends, but they're _too _close. We'll never live it down. We need someone… _unbiased_." I shot his idea down without remorse. Naruto would fucking announce to Konoha that we had fucked, when in reality we didn't. Imagine being Sasuke and telling Naruto that he needed help buying me clothes? Naruto would assume I was stuck in his apartment without clothes. Where do you think _that_ train of thought would lead him, virgin or not? Suddenly, Suddenly, Sasuke looked like he had an idea. It was a slight widening of his eyes, a tiny upturn of the corner of his mouth. I cocked an eyebrow, because I was curious to know what he was thinking.

"We can pay Tsunade to make a genin team do it. It would be a D-class mission. They won't be able to talk about it either." He shrugged and I loved the idea. It was perfect.

"Fine, I would give you money to do it upfront but… everything's in my apartment." I frowned. "I'm sorry. Do you want the money that I _do_ have on me?" I asked.

He shook his head. "No. It was my fault I didn't notice your key fall out, anyway. It's fine."

By then, the water had boiled down to the same level of the rice, so I turned the burner down on "low" and covered the pot to dry the rice out.

"You don't have any video games." I mentioned. Because what am I going to do all day at _his_ apartment?

"No." He agreed.

"Books?" I asked, hoping Sasuke learned to like reading these past four years.

"Nothing you'd find interesting." He responded.

"Movies?" I questioned.

"No. I don't _live_ here." He explained and I knew what he meant. All busy shinobi were like that. We had a home but not _really_. "The cable works." He added. Ugh… TV was so boring.

"A deck of cards?" I asked, pulling at straws. He thought on that a second.

"…Maybe…" He then got up off of his counter, and disappeared into his room, closing the door behind him. I sat up on his countertop and swung my legs around, waiting for the rice to dry. I glared at the rice. Twenty minutes of drying time sucked when you had nothing to do. The clock from his living room became the new focus of my attention. Tick… tick… tick… tick…

Five minutes later Sasuke stepped out, dressed in his black nin pants and a blue zip-up Uchiha shirt with a high collar and a konoha hitai-ate on his forehead. The necklace I noticed before was in full display and his shirt front was zipped down just enough to see his collar bones and the beginnings of his pectorals. Kusanagi was at his back and his weapons pouch was on his right thigh. He had donned his usual black arm warmers. He padded over with a deck of cards in hand, just as I smiled and turned off the stove after checking the rice.

It was now noon. My stomach rumbled. He went into his cabinet and grabbed two, blue rice bowls and a red and white tea set. He fished out a box of expensive tea and started boiling water in a kettle as I scooped rice into the bowls and then dumped the leftover rice into a plastic container, stuffed it in his barren fridge and filled the used pot with soapy water. I left the pot in the sink to soak just as the kettle whistled. Sasuke poured green tea into our cups and pulled out two pairs of metal chopsticks from the drawer next to the stove. He handed me a set and we sat down to eat.

"Itadakimasu!" I exclaimed excitedly and dug into the rice. MMMMMMM! I needed food so bad! I smiled as the bland rice hit my tongue. Bland food was better than no food at all. I sipped on the hot tea and found it delicious as well. Sasuke was quietly eating across from me. We finished the small meal in silence.

"Help yourself to any entertainment you can find. Don't snoop in my room. I'm going to head to the tower and put in the mission request. Do you need anything from the market while I'm out?" He was direct and simple with his instructions, but I smirked at the question he had asked. If he was going to run errands, why not give him a long list of things to get for me?

"Can you tell Tsunade-sama that I'm giving you access to my office in the hospital via Shizune-san?" I asked him. He studied me with his beautiful eyes and nodded.

"Why?" He asked.

"I want you to get a few medical tomes and notebooks for me. I'll write them all down for you." I explained. He frowned but nodded and disappeared into his room. He came back with two clean, white sheets of paper and a pencil. I took them from him and began to write Tsunade-sama a letter, begging her to keep this all from Naruto and to push along the mission Sasuke was going to pay for as quickly as possible. I folded that paper up and signed it. Sasuke took I from me and put it in one of his pockets.

On the other sheet of paper I wrote a list of things for Sasuke to get for his no-man's-land refrigerator. And his empty pantry. I handed that folded paper to him and smirked.

"Have fun." My voice dripped with feigned sweetness, because somewhere deep inside I knew he would be miserable doing all of this. He narrowed his eyes at me.

"Dinner had better be good for all of this." He waved the paper around for emphasis and I gave him a dazzling smile.

"If you want me to make anything specific just buy the right ingredients and I'll make it for us." I smiled genuinely, because, really I appreciated him being a good friend and a decent human being towards me. He nodded as he took the paper, went to his bathroom to brush his teeth and stepped out. Oh shit. That's right! I just remembered that _I_ needed toiletries too.

"Sasuke, wait." He stopped just as he neared the door. I held out my hand. He gave me my list back. I added "Toothbrush" onto the list of things I needed. Oh. And, "hairbrush". … and "Hair-tie." Sasuke read my revamped list and rolled his eyes. Wordlessly, he turned around.

"Ittekimasu." He called behind his shoulder as he left. I smiled warmly, because he probably hadn't said that phrase since he was little and had a family to leave when he went to school or out to play. The door shut behind him and I sighed. I was going to be bored so I might as well help clean and dust his apartment. I rifled around his supply closet and found things to shine and dust with so I got to work because I knew he'd be gone a while and because I owed him _something _for letting me stay here and entire week. For fun, I turned on the TV just to listen to commercials and see what was new and buzzing around in the civilian world. I found an awesome music channel and I ended up cleaning to the music they played on the TV.

I went over to his living room and dusted an empty cabinet with many, many empty drawers. It was obvious that Sasuke just put it there to fill the empty space in the large living room. I shook my head and peered curiously at a few pictures in stand-up frames he had set atop the empty cabinet. My heart clenched at the pictures and the fact that Sasuke was sentimental enough to even _have_ pictures in his apartment…

First, on the very left, was a picture of his brother. Just Itachi-san with a small, polite smile on his handsome face a Konoha hitai-ate on his forehead. Itachi-san had sharper, more mature features than Sasuke did at that age. Still, you couldn't deny that the two were related. Next to it, was a family picture of Sasuke, his mother, who he looked _just_ like, to my surprise, his father, who Itachi-san looked a lot like and of course, Itachi-san himself.

Next to that was a picture of just his mother and his father. They were smiling in the picture. They were happy. His mother was wearing an elaborate kimono and subtle makeup, his father had bright eyes and a happy grin. It was a wedding picture. Sasuke's mother was so beautiful and his father was a lucky guy and he knew it, at least in that picture he did.

At the far right, there was a picture of team seven. Of all of us when we were young. I blushed as I touched it. He had kept this picture? Or had someone kept it for him while he was away? I grinned at little Sasuke in the picture. He was such a punk. My team-seven picture was buried deep in some drawer in my room… should I put it on display too? I know Kakashi-sensei and Naruto kept theirs out… why did I hide mine if even Sasuke was willing to show his?

Next to that picture was a picture of Sasuke, Naruto, Kakashi and Shikamaru and it was clear they were all drunk and got their picture taken at a photo-booth. Obiously Naruto's idea, when you looked at the shit-eating-grin he had on in the picture. Kakashi-sensei was hanging upside down like a drunken silver bat, Shikamaru was in mid-laugh pointing at Naruto on the other side of the picture, and Sasuke was in the middle, one forearm holding his entire weight up on Naruto's shoulder. He wasn't smiling, but I snickered anyway, because in the picture you could tell Sasuke was trying _really _hard to be serious. Obviously right before the picture was taken someone had said something incredibly stupid, probably Naruto. It was good to know that my boys were taking care of each other while I was gone.

The last picture broke my heart. It was an official team photo of Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi. Sai and I weren't there. They were all dressed in anbu gear, looking serious without their masks or cloaks on. They had done missions without me? I felt my heart crack just a little at that. I really had to stop running from my issues… I had missed so much of their lives. Did I really need four years to get over everything? Even if I _did_… I still felt bad for missing out. I turned to Itachi-san's picture, because for some reason it gave me comfort to pray to the dead, particularly Itachi-san. Maybe it was the teeny tiny barely noticeable smile he always wore in his pictures that soothed me…

"I promise I won't screw up that way again… I'll never avoid them again… I'm so sorry." I promised to anyone up there that was listening.

And with that, I went back to cleaning, the music softly playing in the background of Sasuke's apartment…

-X-

This was a short one because obviously, editing does _not_ go well for me when I have to edit almost twenty pages of work. I hope you guys enjoyed this. The next chapter will be Sasuke since most of you like reading Sasuke. I honestly like writing him better anyway I feel like it's easy to have fun with him as well as portray his personality. What did you guys think? This one was boring to me, but hey, it'll get better in the next chapter. Send me reviews! Reviews are _love_ according to DarkPetal16, a pretty awesome authoress if you wanna read some awesome fanfics.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I make no money writing this.

See 'ya later, Space Cowboy!


	12. My life as Uchiha Sasuke

KISEKI

|12|

Wow, I got so much love for the last two chapters. *hearts* I Love you guys. I really do! You have all made my rough week so much better and I'm eternally happy that you're all enjoying the story so far! I'm having such a blast writing this and I sincerely apologize for the little typos and syntax errors here and there! Also, if you guys want your minds blown go read about the legends of Susano'o, Amaterasu, Izanagi and Izanami. Everything in Naruto related to the Uchiha relates to these legends. It's amazing.

-X-

After I closed the door, I felt odd. There was a small warmth in my chest accompanied by a small ache as well. My own words surprised me in a pleasant way.

"_Ittekimasu." _I'm leaving. It was such a simple, but meaningful phrase. I never had anyone at home to leave; not since I was seven, so it made me feel odd saying it, but in a good way, I suppose... Damn Sakura. She did weird things to my head, though I couldn't fully blame her, I was letting her. I _wanted _her to make me think weird things. I was ready for it.

The first order of business was to talk to the hokage and pray the entire trip there that she was alone today. If Naruto got wind that Sakura was, for lack of a better term, "without clothes" in my apartment and I was there to get some for her, I would have one hell of a mess on my hands. I would also have to avoid getting skewered during this hopefully private meeting because the hokage would not like the idea of her student in my apartment without clothes, either. Afterwards, I would somehow have to fit every book Sakura asked for into my storage seals. Afterwards, I'd have to pay Nara a visit. Then I'd have to go _all the way to the market_ and buy all of this food Sakura requested. Why did I need so much food? If I needed to eat I could just _order_ something and have it delivered…_for both of us_. But I guess she just liked to cook, so whatever. It would keep her occupied and hopefully entertained so I'd buy the stupid food.

Fuck, I'm so boring. I really have _nothing _entertaining to do at my apartment. I sort of feel bad for Sakura. She was probably bored. On that note, I'm going to try get all this done _fast_ because nothing good could come from a bored Sakura. She was a medic and a doctor. A scientist. I shuddered at the thought of her running experiments on spiders or that tomato I was planning on eating later. Her pink hair and bright green eyes flashed across my mind right at that moment…

… Sakura was Sakura, not Orochimaru. She did things ethically. I saw first-hand how she operated at the hospital and I have to say I was impressed, so I doubt she'll be running experiments on my tomato. Speaking of seeing Sakura work firsthand, I should go see Yugao today too.

Before I knew it, I was knocking on the doors to the Hokage's office. My throat went a little dry; I hated being alone with the woman.

"Enter, Uchiha." The blonde grumbled; she must have sensed me coming. It wasn't like I was hiding my chakra, anyway. I entered, stiffly. For once, kami-sama was giving me a break: Naruto wasn't there. I shut the door behind me and bowed properly, remembering every bit of grace my father had in front of important personnel.

"What is it?" She seemed more relaxed now that she realized I wasn't going to be a disrespectful brat like I was when I first came back. It's amazing what four years can do to a person… I still remember the first time the hokage punched me. All I said was "hn" and refused to answer a question. I didn't see it coming. It was my fault I got punched anyway; she warned me that if I wasn't cooperative I'd suffer for it. I just didn't know she would be so direct with the "suffer" part.

I looked at my temporary roommate's teacher and wondered how sweet, innocent, easily-hurt Sakura could have ever handled being under the tutelage of someone so brutal and efficient. But then I realized what had happened during those three initial years of tutelage: Sakura had adopted a lot of this woman's behaviors and tailored them to suit her own personality. Makes sense. How else do you deal with someone so difficult? It's how I dealt with Orochimaru. Funny how Orochimaru, Tsunade and Jiraiya were once teammates, and Sakura, Naruto and I, their respective students, were teammates as well. Kami-sama obviously had a sense of humor.

"I have an urgent mission I need taken care of. I'm here as a client." I stated calmly. She narrowed her eyes, knowing something was up. You can't bullshit the godaime hokage. I almost sighed because I was dreading her temper. She laced her fingers and placed them under her chin. She studied me with a calculating gaze. _To snap at Sasuke, or not to snap at Sasuke? _I could practically see the question rolling around in her mind.

"Get to the point. I don't have all day." Yes. She chose to snap. I took a breath and quickly thought about how I was going to present to her my problem in a quick, efficient, yet reassuring way. This was _not_ easy.

"I need a gennin team to buy a week's worth of clothes all in your student's size, _discreetly_." I explained and she stood up so fast, her chair tipped over. Fuck. Not reassuring enough.

"Tsunade-sa—

Shizune, her assistant, poked her head through the other door, which lead to the archives, in concern. She must have heard the chair fall over and hit the floor. I was surprised I wasn't surrounded by a squadron of anbu already.

"Out." Tsunade hissed and Shizune was out, closing the door with a quiet hiss. I could feel the godaime's rage fill the atmosphere of her office. She was powerful, but I wasn't afraid. She couldn't kill or hurt me. I was strong, but I didn't doubt she'd give me a good challenge. "You have five seconds to start explaining what the _hell_ you did to my apprentice before I send one anbu unit to make sure she's okay and another to kill you simultaneously." She warned professionally. Good. I had time. I held up my hand in a peaceful way to settle her.

"I did nothing to her." I explained calmly. Most of her anger seemed to diffuse just then. She visibly relaxed. The atmosphere changed. "We just went out. Sakura lost her key and she's staying at my place while the landlady gets her a new lock and key. She needs clothes. I don't exactly think it would be appropriate if _I _went out to buy her underwear for her, wouldn't you agree?" I crossed my arms to make a point and the hokage picked up her chair and eased into it. She sighed and rubbed her temple.

"You didn't touch her?" It was a question. Why was this a question? I wouldn't open raw wounds like that. But then again, the hokage was a stubborn woman. It would take many more years of loyalty and trust-building for her to see that I wasn't a low-life anymore.

My face pinked anyway at the idea of actually _doing something_ with Sakura. Yes, I fucking _wanted to _last night, but I definitely didn't. And we had even slept next to each other. I should get an award, if anything.

"No." I replied calmly with an edge to my tone. "I'm not _that_ low." I added with offense in my tone. Seriously. If I wanted to mindlessly fuck Sakura that badly I could just convince her into doing it with me while we were _both _sober. I'd remember more details that way. I didn't need a night of getting her piss drunk to get into her pants anyway. I was damn good-looking and Sakura knew it whether she admitted it to my face anymore or not. Speaking of which, this reminds me that Yamanaka _is_ low enough to get her drunk and fuck her. Now, I know what you're thinking. This is perfect. I could just tell Sakura's intimidating, hokage-status mentor that Yamanaka is out to get a piece of her and then be on his merry way afterwards. Tsunade would certainly make it so that man would _never_ look at Sakura that way again. Yes it was all possible and within reach, but no. I'm not going to do that.

Before you get annoyed, remember that I'm above tattling and using people's emotions and attachments to make them act. That sort of thing was fucked up. I had that done to me. I will _not_ manipulate the godaime by telling her that there is a pervert out to get into Sakura's pants, even _if_ it would get Yamanaka off my back— and Sakura's— for good. I had plans for Yamanaka… don't you worry… Tsunade nodded at my response and straightened some papers out on her desk while she thought.

"I see why you looked relieved that I was alone." She commented calmly. And I had to wonder if I was comfortable enough to reveal that much to the hokage with just my expression. I suppose in a sense I was. Tsunade didn't like me, with good reason. I had done everything to Sakura that Orochimaru had done to her and _worse. _Granted, I came back and got my shit together, but that didn't just miraculously erase everything that transpired in the past. Thus, Senju Tsunade still disliked me to this day. She only put up with me because she was forgiving and she was only forgiving because Naruto, Kakashi, and Sakura had been forgiving. Well… Sakura hadn't been forgiving. Not until recently, at least. But it was clear that Sakura's mentor was only civil with me because Naruto and I were technically family. Regardless of how she treated me however, I _still_ respected her. She had taken a lot of Orochimaru's shit and didn't let it get to her. That took a mental strength that you had to be my brother to have. So I respected her. My respect for the woman only grew over the years as well, simply because she was the only one who was able to school Naruto's natural idiotic tendencies and make a proper leader out of him. I nodded quietly in response to her words.

"Naruto would _assume_ things that aren't true..." I explained and she nodded in response.

"I'll write up a list and send a female gennin squad out today. Come back at three and pick the stuff up." She mentioned. "I'll keep this from Naruto for Sakura's sake, not yours."

I nodded again. "One more thing." I fished the note Sakura had written for her shisho out of my pocket. I handed it to the woman. She opened it and I watched her eyes scan the words. She smirked wryly at the note.

"That Sakura…" She spoke fondly. "I'll let you into her office, but you'll be under supervision by Shizune. Take only what's on this list and tell Sakura to report to the hospital at five-thirty am tomorrow morning." She instructed.

"Aa." I nodded. She eyed me before she pressed a tiny, yellow button on her desk.

"Sakura wrote to be gentle with you because you're on her good side…" She started in a low tone. I could practically _smell _the shit she was going to give me in a few seconds.

"…But if I ever find you on her bad side, and _she_ can't handle it… you _will_ suffer in ways you cannot imagine."

"I'm aware." I tried to sound bored because I didn't like threats. I didn't know how to deal with them. My body always wanted me to kill before I was killed. I didn't like being put in that state of mind.

I think Tsunade threatened me because she still saw her wayward teammate in me, which sucked because I was way above Orochimaru's level of "scum". I was Uchiha Sasuke, damn it; I still had my brother's image to live up to. I would not disappoint Itachi. That was my only goal in life at this point; to not disappoint my brother and everything he once was. And I only had that goal because I was Sasuke and I _needed_ a goal. I was fine as long as I had something to aim for. Anyway, despite giving myself a million reasons as to why I was being threatened not to hurt Sakura, I couldn't help but feel that Tsunade had motives other than motherly love for saying those words to me…

Shizune came in at just that moment, sparing me of the awkward staring.

"Hai, Tsunade-sama?" The dark-haired woman asked meekly as she stepped out with a folder in hand. Tsunade sighed and rubbed her forehead.

"I apologize for that earlier. Take Uchiha to Sakura's office. Help him grab what he needs to get. Don't mention anything about it to anyone." Tsunade instructed and Shizune gave me, then Tsunade a worried glance. It was clear that Sakura had become dear to both of these women if even Shizune, who had been more forgiving towards me, was worried.

"She's fine. She's just locked out. Lost her key. You know how she gets when she drinks." Tsunade waved off and Shizune's expression softened as she laughed and walked towards the door, mumbling a simple, "Hair, Tsunade-sama."

"One more thing." They both turned their attention to me when I spoke.

"I'd like permission to visit Yugao-san while at the hospital." I looked to both of them.

"Oh, her condition improved remarkably. She's leaving tomorrow morning. You can see her." Shizune cleared, but then gave a worried look to Tsunade, afraid she had spoken too soon. Tsunade shook her head and Shizune relaxed.

"Go, both of you. I have work." Tsunade waved her hand towards us as she picked up a file and opened it, taking in a deep, annoyed breath at the action.

"Please come with me, Sasuke-kun." I nodded and followed Shizune out. We walked side by side to the hospital. Shizune was easier to deal with than Tsunade. She was less distrusting and made me feel more at ease. Mission reports were always easier to give when she was in the room. In her own way, she presented herself like and elder sibling to everyone that needed one. Naruto and I were no exception. I remember the few times Tsunade needed to rest after the war and the paperwork was left to Naruto and Shizune. Dobe had actually convinced her to drag me into the office because I could replicate their signatures perfectly. In the end, she proved to be kind and trustworthy, but sharp and thorough. She made sure nothing was amiss after Naruto and I blasted through a week's worth of work in a day. Oh? Did I forget to mention we had used shadow clones too? Yeah, the rest of the week ran _beautifully_. Not a word was uttered about my presence there that day, either. That was when I realized that I could actually _trust _Shizune.

"It's nice of you to run errands for Sakura-chan." Shizune mentioned, but I noticed the sharp undertone in her kind voice. I smirked. Shizune was smart. She was able to deduce that I had been there when Sakura was drinking. She knew we went out. As in "together".

"Don't get the wrong idea." I replied, but it was bullshit because the "wrong idea" had actually turned into the "right idea" nearly overnight. I was starting to allow myself to like Sakura, even if she most likely would never trust me with her feelings again... _maybe_.

"You're no fun. Sakura-chan won't like you like _that_." She teased knowingly and I shook my head.

"Naruto was the one that set me and Sakura up, wasn't he?" I queried in regards to our living arrangement because Shizune would have been there when he cooked up the plan. She grinned as she waved at a passerby on the way through the hospital doors.

"Yes, he and Tsunade-sama did it. I'm sorry but I was told to keep it an S-level secret until you both found out." She apologized genuinely. "I assume their plotting worked, since Sakura-chan trusts you enough to stay with you for the week?" She queried in a slightly annoying chipper tone. I shrugged. Not really. Sakura insisted on going to Naruto's initially, even when she was wasted. I decided to shake my head in response.

"I don't think so. She still wanted to go to Naruto's." I added. "Even when she was wasted." I smirked remembering how she had demanded her shoes in the hallway so she could walk there. Sakura was stubborn, but obviously not nearly as stubborn as Tsunade. I had convinced her to stay, but that was only because my own will was practically immovable when I set my mind to it; drunk after a night of partying or not.

"Ah, that wouldn't have been a good idea." She began and I cocked my brow in curiosity. "It's a good thing you convinced her to stay with you." She spoke solemnly as we walked through the halls, nodding towards people we knew. I narrowed my eyes at that statement. Why exactly would it have been a bad idea to stay with Naruto? Was I missing something? I handed her the paper with all of Sakura's requests on it. She unfolded it just as the curiosity got to me.

"Why?" I asked, trying to keep the suspicion out of my tone. I felt like I didn't know something that I should know. I didn't like feeling like that for obvious reasons.

"Well, you know how Naruto-kun used to feel about Sakura-chan. It's just not healthy for him to be… _reminded_ I suppose." She shrugged and it made perfect sense. Sakura drove _me_ crazy last night. Really, she made me question my sanity. She was sexy and she was single. Naruto was in a serious relationship and he was in the process of trying to forget about his feelings for her, even if she'd always have a place in his big, stupid heart because she was the first person he loved. _Loved_.

Me? Me on the other hand? I didn't really have time for feelings, so I never nurtured any towards Sakura, not when we were kids and not even after the war. Not until maybe after I saw that she had moved in next door to me a week or so ago. Sakura… drunk and _sexy_ Sakura was dangerous to an emotional and sober Naruto. He would never cheat but she would hurt him. He would remember how she would never look at him that way and it would _suck_. I was safe from that kind of shittyness. Sort of. I wasn't easily hurt. My heart had a harder shell than Naruto's could ever even dream of making, so even if Sakura tortured me sexually and maybe even emotionally I would be able to handle it. Naruto? Tch, yeah right. Naruto would feel like _shit_ and overthink things for _days_. Maybe that voice in my head last night was right. That gut feeling was the one that told me I had to protect my brother from something. I was glad I listened to it.

However, Naruto's lingering feelings for Sakura were a mess that I knew would catch me one day… maybe not now, or not in the next year, but one day. Things that were buried tended to stick out of the ground and get rediscovered at one point or another. If you don't believe me look at Madara. He was definitely dead _now_, but the shitstorm he caused… it was because he couldn't and wouldn't stay fucking dead and buried the first time.

We reached a wooden door. On it, the little metal rectangle read Sakura's full name. I smirked at her title. "Dr. Haruno Sakura". It fit her. Secretly, I felt a small sense of pride. Sakura had worked hard and gotten incredibly far in life. I was an idiot to dismiss her potential, not that I could see anywhere past my own selfish nose back then, anyway.

Shizune slid her access card through the door and stepped inside. I followed her. She flicked on the lights. They were cold and fluorescent like the rest of the lights in the hospital, but the desk lamp looked like it gave off a warm light that Sakura would appreciate after a long shift. Sakura's desk was neat and tidy, as I expected. A small stack of files sat atop the large calendar on the lacquered wooden surface. Shizune grabbed them and walked over to a mini-library that lined the entire left wall of the office. Though, I was thoroughly impressed by Sakura's book stash, I chose to take in the details of the rest of her office while Shizune pulled out the tomes my pink-haired roommate had requested.

The floor was tiled and white like in the rest of the hospital, the drop ceiling was the same as in the rest of the hospital. Everything was uniform, structurally speaking. The only thing that stuck out in the room was the almost _badass_ leather chair at the desk. It was just a leather chair but it was big and looked comfortable to sit on. I smirked at it. Sakura _would _have an epic, leather chair. On the wall directly to my right was a small closet. It was closed so I had no idea what was behind it; and I wasn't about to snoop around and find out, regardless of my curiosity. Behind Sakura's desk was a large window halfway covered with white blinds. At the end of that wall was a tall plant. It was so dead it made _my_ skin feel dry and ashy. Sakura was a horrible gardener. Her eyes were obviously greener than her thumb. I smirked and decided I'd tease her about that later.

Shizune cleared her throat and my eyes flew to her. I had gotten lost in my thoughts. She was smiling at me. I shook my head and allowed her to stack the books and files onto my arm. I pumped chakra into the seal on my left armwarmer and everything on my arm disappeared in a puff of smoke. Great I was done here. The next destination was the Nara compound.

"You should get going." Shizune suggested as she handed me Sakura's list. I nodded, bowed respectfully, to which Shizune smiled and bowed back at, and existed Sakura's office, searching out Yugao's chakra as I sped through the halls. When Yugao called for me to enter her small hospital room, she looked miles better than the last time I saw her dying on a different hospital bed in the OR. I sat on the chair next to her bed. She politely tipped her head in greeting as I sat down.

"Sasuke." She greeted pleasantly. I nodded in response.

"How do you feel?" I asked.

"Good as new. Yourself?" She asked. She was never one to focus on herself much.

"Fine." Aside from my frustration with Sakura I was okay.

"Yamanaka pissed you off on the last mission, huh?" She suddenly interjected with a wry smirk. Oh. She had felt my killing intent. Oops. I shrugged nonchalantly. She shook her head.

"I'm not stupid, boy. Is that why he's shitting his brains out, according to the nurses?" I smirked back at her. Yugao was no idiot. If anything, she must have sensed me in the hospital when I broke in with Ino.

"He wanted to fuck you _and _my friend so I decided to get in his way." I shrugged. "Will you say anything about it?" Because if she decided to report me I should know now and start coming up with explanations as to _why_ I poisoned a Yamanaka with something I stole from the hospital… with another Yamanaka. She shook her head and crossed her arms.

"No, no. Let the asshole suffer." She waved her hand because she really didn't care. This is why we were friends.

"Which friend?" She asked and changed the subject.

"Sakura." I replied easily.

"Oh. I see. Nice of you to make amends."

I shrugged again. What could I say to that?

"Your brother would be proud." She mentioned quietly, but meaningfully. She knew the shit I had put Sakura through. She knew it would take a lot to fix everything.

"Thank you." To hear that my brother would be proud from someone who knew Itachi better than I did was reassuring. It told me I was succeeding at my goal, little by little. She gave me a small smile. I stood up and stuck my fist out. She shook her head and bumped her fist against mine, despite thinking it was a stupid way to greet or say goodbye to people.

"I'll see you around, Uchiha."

"Ja-ne." And I was out of there, shunshinning towards the Nara compound. I took to the rooftops eventually because it would cut time out of traveling there. I landed in front of the compound and entered. No one gave me odd looks here. The Nara were intelligent people. Furthermore, they trusted their clan head. And their clan head happened to be a good friend of mine. As a result they didn't treat me with contempt, only understanding. I nodded at a few people I had come to be acquainted with here. It wasn't long before I reached Shikamaru's house. I knocked on his door. It took him about fifteen minutes of me flashing my chakra in an annoying pattern to get him to open his door. When he did he looked like absolute shit. His clothes were rumpled and his ponytail was crooked on his head. He had bags under his eyes. I grimaced. One night out fucked him up_ that_ badly? Though I'm not one to talk; I comfortably slept in with Sakura till about eleven.

"You look like shit." I greeted.

"Fuck you." He replied lazily, and then yawned. "Want some tea while you're here?" He asked as I followed him in. Shikamaru didn't care about traditions so I left my shoes on. I was only going to be here briefly anyway.

"I won't be here long. I just needed to ask if you have a shogi board I can borrow." I explained as I followed him aimlessly through the wooden hallways of his traditionally-style house.

"Oh. That's it? You interrupted my nap for a shogi board?" He glared as he stopped in one hallway, next to a rice-paper door with a deer on it.

"Yes." I responded. He glowered at me through his saggy eyes.

"Whatever I'm up anyway let me get you the fucking board." He slid open the deer-door and I followed him into a sitting room. He walked up to a low wooden cabinet and slid open a drawer. I still couldn't believe he briefly thought about ditching me in his hallway to go back to sleep. Good thing I had made him wake up and come downstairs first. He pulled out a rectangular cardboard box. I sealed it into my armwarmer and clapped him on his shoulder so hard he visibly shook.

"Thanks." I smiled because this would help a lot. Nara yawned again.

"Yeah, whatever. Later, Sasuke." And I shunshinned away, letting him get back to sleep. Finding all of the food at the market was the easy part. The hard part was going into the general store and getting Sakura her stupid hairbrush. A toothbrush was easy to pick out for her. Mine was blue so I got her a baby pink one just to poke fun at her hair. And of course, because it initially reminded me of her hair. Next, I grabbed some hair ties and a brush and I noticed that I was getting some curious stares from a few civilian girls. I _really _hoped they'd keep their mouths shut. I didn't need my business spread everywhere. After I was done in that isle, I went to the register. The man who operated it was a former shinobi. You could just tell by the look in his grey eyes. He had seen some awful things. His hair was shaggy and dark and he greeted me with a glower. I placed the stuff I needed on the counter. He scanned everything without speaking to me. I paid him what I owed him. The tension in the air was palpable. I stored everything into my seal and turned around to escape the discomfort I felt. Just as I was about to step to leave he spoke.

"Uchiha." I stopped and turned around, knowing my eyes were as cold as his were.

"Do the world a favor. _Don't _reproduce." He insulted.

Fuck you. I don't plan on it. I said and did nothing. I left, feeling pretty shitty about myself. My name specifically lacked honor despite the fact that I helped Naruto save the shinobi world as we know it. That was something I forgot, but it wasn't something on the forefront of my mind every day. Who wanted to think about how bad they fucked up every day anyway? That wasn't normal. But the guy had sourly reminded me of my past mistakes. I stuffed my hands in my pockets and decided to walk to the tower to pick up Sakura's clothes. A group of gennin girls were waiting for me outside of the tower. One had dark brown hair tied up in a bun and violet eyes. She wore a deep purple tunic, yellow shorts, black sandals and a Konoha hitai ate on her forehead. The second one, in the middle had short, blonde hair and grey eyes. She wore a white hoodie and navy pants and sandals. Her hitai ate was on her neck. The third was confident, grinning from ear to ear. She had long, scarlet hair, red eyes and wore an outrageously patterned red and white kimono top and black shorts and boots. Definitely an Uzumaki by blood. She must be one of the ones that decided to move to Konoha after the war.

"Yo! You're the tall dark and broody guy hokage-sama told us about!" The redhead jumped from the top of the railing down to the bottom of the stairs about a foot in front of me, while the brunette rolled her violet eyes. The blonde blushed meekly and fidgeted with her sweater.

"Aa. That's me. You have what I need?" I asked. She grinned up at me and made a seal. To my surprise three square bundles wrapped in cardboard appeared in her hands. She had seals painted on her palms. She was advanced for her age group. I wondered if Naruto had met this cousin of his yet.

"Here." She lifted the bundles and I took them from her, sealing them into my armwarmer.

"Arigato. Which team are you and what's your name?" I asked.

"We're team ten. Uzumaki Ruri." She smiled. The bored one is Mimi and hoodie over there is Kimi-chan." She stuck her hand out. "Our families are friends, so shake my hand." She ordered in a friendly tone. I was not impressed that she knew who I was. True peace amongst the remaining Uchiha boy and the Uzumaki-Senju family was big news when it hit. I smirked and shook her hand.

"You should show Naruto what you can do. Maybe he'll agree to training with you." I advised and she looked surprised. Quickly, she bowed.

"Arigato, Uchiha-sama!" I smiled down at her red head. It was nice to meet people like Ruri. She reminded me of a more refined Naruto.

"Ja-ne." I nodded to her two friends. The "bored" brunette nodded back and the blonde hid behind her and smiled shyly. The brunette pushed off the blonde, lecturing her about confidence, just as I turned around and left.

I walked home at a regular pace. As if Kami-sama wanted to add more "bitter" to my bittersweet day, Yamanaka blocked my path about four blocks from my apartment complex. He was pale and a little ragged, but he was dressed in a white, civilian t-shirt and dark blue pants. His hitai ate was on his forehead. Apparently he finally stopped shitting himself. I gave him a cool look because he looked pissed.

"Nani?" I asked, because I wasn't in the mood for his shit and he was _definitely _wasting my time. What man wasted time when there was an attractive woman at his apartment? You tell me.

"Don't play stupid with me." He deadpanned. And I hated him for sounding like my brother. That grated on my nerves more than anything. Why was Itachi's voice coming out of the mouth of a shitbag like Yamanaka?

"I don't know what you're talking about." I replied and crossed my arms because he was starting to piss me off. If he thought I would openly admit to making him sick, he was wrong.

"You don't think it's a little funny that I somehow got sick the night before I was supposed to go out with _your _teammate?" He asked heatedly. Actually, yes, I thought it was fucking _hilarious._ I would laugh at it inwardly until the day I died. But outwardly, I shrugged, feigning indifference.

"If you believe I had anything to do with your illness you must be as superstitious as the others who dislike me." My brother's cunning words left my mouth. I wasn't ashamed that the words were lies. This man did not deserve the truth. Yamanaka narrowed his green eyes. He was _not_ happy.

"When I'm back at a hundred percent, I'll—

"You'll what? Kill me? Please try, you may make my day interesting, but I don't think Sakura would like that." I replied. "Oh, and by the way, we had fun. Thank you for that, Yamanaka." I mocked as I walked past him. He shot some killing intent at me that was pretty intense but I ignored it. He couldn't kill me. In a decent fight, I'd win. He couldn't poison me either, so he'd have to get creative if he wanted me to roll over and die without fighting for my life. I was undisturbed but a little unnerved the rest of the way to my apartment.

When I reached my floor, I was surprised to hear hard music playing from my apartment. All sort of instruments clashed and met in the tune to make an incredible sound that fit my mood just perfectly. Interesting. I listened from the hallway, my chakra hidden completely. I heard another song start. This song, reminded me of Sakura for some reason. It sounded witty and feminine. The lead singer was a woman. She was singing the song with a man. He admitted how she was always in his head, but he just didn't notice.

"_You're the tar~get, dead on the spo~ot… When I fo~cus I never Mi~ss… It starts with a kiss!"_ She sangand afterwards, he screamed like he was going insane and that fun but sardonic beat followed him. Well… doesn't that sound _familiar_?

That was about when I unlocked my door silently. I almost snickered at what I found in my living room. Sakura was dancing to the song, singing along to it, though the music was so loud I couldn't hear her voice. It was funny. Incredibly funny. She was singing into a duster. She moved just as well as she did last night, but… her hair was all fucked up and she was in my boxers and my shirt, twisting her hips and showing off her ass, completely unaware of my presence. I covered my mouth to avoid snickering and stood there, wondering when she'd notice. I watched her for a while, and decided that even sober, I _really _liked her ass and her legs. She bobbed her head and threw herself around to the rag-tag melody. Two and a half minutes later, she decided to spin at the end of the song. She screamed when she saw me standing against the living room wall and I lost my shit. I snorted as she turned off the tv and threw the remote at my head. I ducked and it hit the wall behind me with a crack. My snort turned into a chuckle and I listened to her panting either from exerting herself during her dance or from noticing me and panicking. My snort turned into a laugh and she became _angry. _

"SSSSSSAAAAAASSSSSSUUUUUKKKKKK_EEEEEEEE_!" *snap* That was the sound her temper must have just made. She exploded. But I was still laughing. She dove for the couch and chucked a blue and white pillow at me next. I moved to the side and dodged.

"How long were you standing there!" She fumed. I smirked. I wasn't going to tell her I was there for the whole performance; she might want to kill me. When she realized I was going to keep my mouth firmly shut, she lunged at me, grabbing another blue and white pillow from my couch. I thought I could handle her weight as she jumped on me but I failed to realize she had added chakra to her attack and I was helplessly thrown onto the dark living room carpet. The back of my head narrowly missed the wall behind me. She pinned my one wrist to the floor over my head and held the pillow at arm's length away from me. I held my forearm up in defense, ignoring the softness between her legs pressing into my abs.

"Tell me." She demanded.

"No." I replied, still smirking at her messy-haired dance, and her enticing parts rubbing against me. She hit me with the pillow, but I took that opportunity to jerk my hips, throw her off balance and roll her over. She used her chakra again and made me roll over _again_, so I kept the momentum going and rolled us one more time until we hit the bottom of the couch. I was on top of her and she had nowhere to go, but she was done being angry and now she was grinning, pillow still in hand even as I pinned her to the floor by both of her wrists.

"Okairi, Sasuke!" She greeted enthusiastically. I shook my head on the words she decided to use. "Welcome home." It was customary. It was just customary but my stupid head decided that in that moment, it meant more to me.

"Tadaima." _"I'm back." _Customary response. She interpreted it as that. I secretly wished she didn't.

"Jeez leave it to you to not even notice how clean your apartment is." She huffed and rolled her beautiful green eyes. I smirked. She was wrong. I _did_ notice.

"I noticed. Your concert was just way more entertaining to pay attention to." I replied. She glared at me and I climbed off of her because I felt like we were _almost _flirting and that made me slightly nervous, plus I was getting hard. I needed to _not_ do that. I helped her up. That was a mistake. She death-gripped my hand once she was standing and threw me into the couch so hard the whole thing almost fell over. Then, she decked me with both pillows. I was impressed. Smart move, Sakura. I'd have to get her back for that. I blew hair out of my face and threw the pillow back at her. Of course she caught it and aimed it back at me.

"Is that how you treat the container of your medical texts?" I queried snidely and she dropped the pillow immediately.

"You actually got them?" She sounded surprised.

"Yes, why? Was I not supposed to? You never mentioned that." I deadpanned as I stood up and straightened out my shirt.

She shrugged.

"No I thought Tsunade-sama wouldn't let anyone else in even if I asked. I guess my note worked." She replied.

"Speaking of your office your plant is very dead." I informed. She paled.

"I forgot all about it." She admittedin horror.

"Mn. It's drier than the Suna desert." I smirked.

"Shut up." She glared at me. But I didn't stop there. I had one more comment left in my arsenal in regards to her plant.

"I think your eyes are greener than your thumb." I let the pillow that she threw at me in retribution connect. It hit me square in the chest and she started laughing.

"My mom always said that." She commented.

I smirked. But then I remembered what Tsunade had told me to tell her.

"Tsunade wants you at the hospital tomorrow at 5:30 am." I walked over to the shiny kitchen table, leaving behind the mess in the living room. She _really _cleaned my apartment. My table smelled like wood cleaner. When the hell had I gotten wood cleaner for this place? When I first got it? I almost felt bad for walking around in it and messing it back up after she had _actually _dusted it. I saw her straighten the pillows in the living room and pick up the remote. She set it on the cabinet next to my pictures. I wonder if she looked at them and what she thought of them. The Uchiha crest on her back made my chest feel weird. I looked away.

"I hate the morning shift." She grumbled and walked into the kitchen area. I unsealed all of the groceries and she started putting everything away. Afterwards, I unsealed her brush, hair-ties and her toothbrush. She glared at me as she held up the toothbrush.

"Really, Sasuke? A four year old knows my favorite color is _red_. Why'd you get me pink?" She asked, annoyed and I smirked because she was assuming correctly: I got it just to peeve her.

"Because I knew it would annoy you." I added helpfully.

Her face fell. She shook her head, huffed and moved to go put the items away in the bathroom. I think I like seeing her mad. Something's wrong with me. Maybe I liked seeing her "mad" because I knew she wasn't _actually_ "mad". Who knows? I unsealed the shogi board next, let it on the kitchen table, and then went into the living room to unseal all of the books and files. I put them all atop the cabinet she had also dusted and shined. I smiled at the picture of my brother and walked towards my room. Sakura followed me. I opened the door and I noticed he crossed her arms.

"When did you clean?" She asked. I had made the bed that morning when I went to change while she was waiting for the rice to finish cooking.

"When I changed."

Her eyes flew to my over-stuffed hamper. She glared at the clothes.

"You still haven't gotten obaa-san he cupcakes?" She asked, annoyed. Huh? It took me a second to remember that she told me the old laundry lady likes cupcakes. I still wasn't planning on going back there to cause a scene. I frowned at the basket.

"We'll go together tomorrow night." She smiled when she spoke. I gave her a worried look.

"Oh stop it, it'll be fine." I shrugged and walked over to my bed. I unsealed the bundles of wrapped clothes.

"Everything the gennin bought is there. Change into some training clothes. It's about time we had our spar." And with that I turned around, leaving her alone in my room as I closed the door behind me.

"Taijutsu only!" She called through the door. "I still have to make dinner after!"

I smiled to myself. Taijutsu and dinner. I shook my head. Four years ago if you told me I was pleased at the idea of sparring with Sakura and eating her dinner afterwards I'd have called you crazy. Now? Now I think _I'm_ the crazy one.

-X-

YAAAAAAYYY! A DAY IN THE LIFE OF SASUKE! What did you guys think? Next chapter will be from Sakura's point of view! Anyway, I decided to cut this chapter a little short and end it here because I will be a bit busy this weekend. Birthdays and work and whatnot. As always, *hearts* I love you guys, please review and let me know what you think, in detail! I'm always curious to know! I love reading opinions!

BY the way the song Sasuke caught Sakura dancing to was Ricochet by Shiny Toy Guys

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. No money is made from writing this. None!

See 'ya later, Space Cowboy!


	13. Taijutsu and Cupcakes

KISEKI

|13|

Soooo much research went into this chapter. So much. I cannot tell you how many videos and demonstrations I looked up for so many different hand-to hand combat styles. I looked up _so_ many Naruto fight AMV's just to see each character use their taijutsu. This chapter was more or less a _bitch_ to write. It was a bitch to edit too because for like a week I was actually _scared_ to look at it; thinking I had somehow screwed it up.

Anyway, I happen to think I suck at writing fight scenes, so I figured I'd put more effort into it this time around and be specific with the movements. Naruto works so much different from Yu Yu Hakusho, which is what I'm used to writing. The mechanics of the characters are so different, their movements are so much more human and limited, so I had to work really hard at toning everything down too and keeping things simple, but exciting.

Not to mention, I hate writing Sakura, (officially) because she sort of puts me in a somber mood. In any case, I hope I wrote everything just right for you guys. Again, please let me know whether it's good or bad. I'm so happy that so many of you favorited and followed me and this story. *hearts* This one is for you guys!

-X-

Sasuke didn't answer me when I called, so I just assumed he agreed to my terms. I started to grin in excitement. I had a surprise in store for him… but it would have to wait until we reached the training field. I ignored the odd feeling of changing in someone else's room as I undressed and un-wrapped the first bundle of clothes my temporary roommate had bought for me. It was filled with underwear. I picked out a black thong and a tight, black bandeau for my breasts. The second bundle was filled with red tunics, of which I picked one and threw on and the third was filled with black, tight-fitting tactical pants and a pair of boot-sandals, which I eagerly slipped on over my legs. The pants had built-in kunai pouches and to my delight there was a small storage seal that I assumed housed weapons and a basic medical pack— no doubt something Tsunade threw in for me. It must have been expensive… _ouch_. Somewhere in Konoha Village Bank's vault, my account was cringing _already_. Poor Sasuke. No, nevermind Sasuke. He'd get his money back. Poor me. Poor, poor Sakura.

My hitai-ate was still in my apartment so I'd just have to deal without it until the landlady changes my lock. I pushed a little chakra into the storage seal. More storage seals popped out. I pushed a little more and *poof* just as I'd expected, kunai, tactical wire, shuriken, and a medical kit popped out. I organized my pouches the way I wanted, and placed the medical kit on my left, lower-back.

I contemplated leaving my new undies out just to peeve Sasuke in revenge for the pink toothbrush he bought me, but I decided to be nice instead. I re-wrapped the bundles and stacked them atop each other at the end of his bed. Then I folded the clothes he had given me and stacked them atop the bundles. I looked around his room and smiled. It was neat and organized— aside from the laundry pile. I was glad I didn't have to clean up after him like I had to whenever I stayed with Naruto. I stepped out of his room, my hair still a wild mess. Sasuke was having tea in his living room, watching some civilian drama. He looked up at me briefly and studied my outfit. I noticed how his eyes lingered on the weapons pouch on my right leg. I smiled—because he was already planning ahead for our spar— and walked into the bathroom to tie up my hair. I would need it out of my way for this fight. Sasuke was quick, after all. I had no doubt in my mind that he was sneaky too. I liked how long my hair had gotten and I simply didn't want it to get in my way.

I clicked the door shut and stared in the mirror. I was shocked. My hair was _awful_. No wonder Sasuke had laughed at me earlier. I looked like a poor, disheveled imitation of Karin without the glasses _or_ boobs, not to insult her or anything— she _had_ become a respectable tokubetsu jounin and helped me with my sensory skills— but her hair was a little strange. I ripped the brush through my pink strands and smiled once it was neat again. I had a better idea than just a simple ponytail. Quickly, I French-braided my hair and tied the end of the braid tightly A few strands of hair fell out, framing my face where my bangs were, but whatever, it would do. I brushed my teeth, splashed some cold water into my face, gave myself a determined look and a nod and stepped out.

Sasuke noticed me but placed his crossed feet on top of the couch anyway. He looked insistent on finishing his tea before we left, so I went into the fridge to grab a banana. I scarfed it down and noticed a lonely little tea cup on the counter, cooling down rapidly. I grabbed the cup of delicious tea with a smile because it was just _thoughtful_ of Sasuke to make me tea, and then placed myself at the other end of his couch, just beneath his raised legs, as if we had never had any bad blood in our history.

I watched the show for a few minutes as I sipped, tucking my legs sideways on the couch, and leaning on the arm. I smirked because I was surprised that Sasuke didn't say anything about shoes on his couch. I supposed he didn't mind much because they were brand new. Anyway, the show was about a civilian woman dating a ninja in another world. There was war and she was constantly worried. Not to mention pregnant. I rolled my eyes. Not that that wasn't a serious situation, it was just overdone. I had read that same plot issue in many books already.

"What?" Sasuke had noticed my quiet exasperation. He sounded curious so I smirked.

"Her situation is cliché." I plainly stated, then looked over at him. He nodded quietly in agreement. We went back to watching. Oh! What's this? Her boyfriend's best friend was into her! Whoa! He just confessed! Her hand flew to her stomach—

*click* Black screen.

Sasuke had turned the tv off. Confused, I looked to him.

"Cliché." He labeled the show and stood. I smiled, drinking down the rest of my tea. We ditched our empty tea cups in the sink and left his apartment. He locked the door behind him.

"So I guess when we get back I'll bake cupcakes." I started, because he _really_ needed his laundry done.

"I have no supplies for that." He replied stoically. Classic "Sasuke" response. I grinned because it brought back memories of the stick he had up his ass when we were younger.

"We're limiting ourselves to taijutsu, Sasuke. We can stop at the store afterwards; it not like we'll be so beat we won't be able to move." I reasoned. I was planning on giving him hell on my day off the day after tomorrow, anyway. _That _was going to be the night that we would probably spend lying on the grass completely unable to do anything but rest and complain about aches and pains.

"Hn." He seemed agreeable. Good. I smiled to myself as I thought about bringing Naruto in on our training sessions. I mean, it's not like Naruto needed to maximize every ounce of chakra he had, being the powerhouse of energy that he is, but it would be nice to just train together again… maybe with Kakashi-sensei too. Sort of like a team reunion.

"You're smiling." Sasuke noticed. Sasuke_ always_ noticed the little things nowadays, huh? What was with him? If I was quietly smiling to myself eight years ago he wouldn't have given a rat's ass if you told him about it. Interesting.

"Yes that's what people do when they have pleasant thoughts or feelings. I thought you knew this already." I grinned, because I wasn't going to get cheesy and sentimental around him so he could shoot my idea down. Screw that. He gave me a dejected look and I smirked at him.

"I meant to ask why…" He clarified, a little bit of annoyance peppering his tone. I shrugged. Well, screw it, if I was going to plan a team reunion he'd have to be forced into it anyway. Might as well tell him my idea consequences be damned.

"I was thinking about eventually training with Kakashi-sensei and Naruto too. All four of us… and Sai if he's not busy…" I shrugged. "They'd like it." I added nonchalantly because if he shot my idea down, _fuck_ him. I would train with the rest of my boys anyway.

"Aa. They would." Sasuke just agreed. He didn't accept or reject the idea. I chanced a glance in his direction. He was staring ahead, lost in thought. When had he become so… _neutral_? I had never known him to be this relaxed. It was an interesting side of him to see. We were on a busy street, so I should have been prepared for what happened next, but… I wasn't. I'm an idiot.

"Wh-Whoaaaaaaah!" A young man's voice.

*crash!* A smaller body knocked into me, from the side, knocking me into Sasuke, who was quick enough to cradle me as we all hit the dirt road beneath us. And just like that, there I was with Uchiha Sasuke's stupid, sexy, _hard_ abs rubbing against my face, my breasts pressing against something that was _also_ growing hard _quite _rapidly. I took in his scent as his arms wrapped around my head and torso. He smelled so clean and so _Sasuke_. I blushed because… fuck me, my teammate is sexy and I can't just ignore that.

"Ouch…" groaned a familiar voice. "Moegiiii…." The same boy whined. My temper snapped. Sasuke, sensing it, held me tighter to his chest before I could _rip_ Konohamaru a new asshole. Unfortunately, this made my chest rub up against his, um, well his _penis_ a little bit and he froze in place, probably _just _noticing right now. Lovely.

"Aw shit! Sakura-nee! Sasuke-nii! Gomen!" I felt Konohamaru's hands push off my thigh and my leg was free. Sasuke's arms slackened almost _nervously _as I pushed myself free of him, hoping my face wasn't as pink as my hair because kami-sama damn well gave him a _gift_ down there! You'd be embarrassed too! My eyes caught his face. He wasn't looking at me. He was focusing on an invisible spot somewhere on an eel stand nearby. His cheeks were slightly red. _Fuck_. Awkwaaaaard. I snapped my angry attention to Konohamaru and stood, helping Sasuke up by the collar of his shirt in the process because I needed to be violent towards _something_. Sasuke didn't seem to mind as he uncurled my fingers from his shirt. I fisted my hands at my sides and looked the boy up and down. Konohamaru had a nasty bruise on the side of his face. I placed my hands on my hips and glared at the Sarutobi, ignoring the fact that cutely, he had gotten a bit taller since the last time I saw him. He gave me a goofy, guilty smile. I narrowed my eyes.

"What did you do _this_ time?" I asked because I _knew_ he pissed Moegi off. She had already roughed him up so there was no reason for me to do so. He laughed sheepishly in response.

"Heh heh… well… it's more of what I said, rather than I did…Sakura-nee…"

"Konahamaruuuu!" Oh. That sounded like a pissed-off Moegi. Well, I might as well let him get a head start. I rolled my eyes. He smiled, realizing I wasn't going to grill him for knocking me down.

"Ja-ne!" He ran off. I shook my head at his retreating back. His scarf was a little shorter around his neck now and Moegi, who shot us an apologetic look as she ran past us, seemed to have grown into a beauty. Her dark eyes were large and cat-like and her hair had grown long and calmed into long, orange waves. She was wearing a pale yellow nin-skirt, with black, form-fitting nin pants beneath and a regular, grey v-neck, similar to mine. She bounded after him, chakra pumping into her legs.

"I swear those two are going to get married one day..." I grumbled to myself aloud, crossing my arms, my anger deflated.

"Because they argue?" Sasuke asked and my head whipped over to him. I honestly completely forgot he was there. I fucking _blushed _at the sound of his voice, too, _damn_ my good memory. I couldn't shake the feeling of his toned body against my torso, so I shook my head instead as I watched him dust off his clothes.

"Well yeah… They're really cute, no?." I focused on Moegi and Konohamaru, just to _not_ focus on Sasuke's…_enticing _parts.

_**But you know he'd be a great ride…**_

Shut up, inner.

_**He's perfect though… He's not too big either… let's just… **_**fuck**_** him, why not? He's a man, he has needs too… **_

Shut. The fuck. Up.

There was silence in my head. _Finally_. Sasuke was waving his hand in my face. I knocked it away, narrowing my eyes in frustration.

"What?" I queried, more annoyed at myself than him.

He glared at me. "Stop spacing out."

"Sorry. What did you say that I missed?" I asked, feeling bad about being slightly bitchy towards him. He studied my face, debating on whether or not he should repeat himself. He decided that he would.

"I thought the glasses-kid liked her." He grumped, ashamed that he had partaken in gossip. I laughed at him because he looked awkward.

"Oh you mean Udon?" I asked. Sasuke's face twisted in disgust.

"Whose idea was it to name him _that_?" He asked incredulously and I shrugged. Sasuke gripped his forehead in distress, threading his fingers through his thick bangs. The hitai-ate on his forehead shifted a little. I smiled at the fact that he wore it almost proudly.

"I'm not surprised she doesn't notice him…" He mumbled and I laughed out loud. He stuck his hands back in his pockets and we continued walking.

"If I remember correctly, Udon idolizes you. Maybe you should pay him a visit and give him a few pointers." I grinned, because I would _love_ to see Sasuke giving a boy advice on women. It would be _hilarious_.

"Hn. If he has female issues it's not _my_ business." Sasuke replied, but I didn't miss the small spark in his eyes that clued me into his mischief. He probably _would _go help Udon have a fighting chance, there's just no way in hell he'd let me in on it. I smiled at the ground beneath my feet. When had Sasuke started to care about others? I'd have to go see Naruto soon… or maybe Shikamaru. Yeah Shikamaru was the better choice. He'd tell me exactly what happened to make stubborn Sasuke change so much. I noticed people giving us odd looks as we passed by, and some sandy-haired middle-aged man who had given Sasuke a discreet nod. I saw Sasuke nod back, almost unperceptively. The man smiled after Sasuke nodded at him. Was that a friend of his? Whatever, we continued on our way and somehow made it to the peaceful seclusion of training ground three. I smiled at the beat-up wooden posts Naruto had gotten himself caught in when we were younger. I could almost see me and Sasuke sitting next to him, debating on how to beat Kakashi-sensei's test. My eyes mildly watered at the memory... that's where it all started.

I stopped myself from crying. I missed those days, but at the same time, I should have been stronger back then. I should have sought extra help, if Kakashi-sensei wasn't going to help me out-right after that stupid mission in Wave country when I thought Sasuke had died. I was so vapid. I was such a stupid, vapid girl. Naruto was in trouble during that mission and all I had given a shit about was Sasuke being dead. If I had half a fucking mind I could have healed him and gone to help Naruto. I shook my head. If I had been stronger and wiser I could have stopped that bullshit in the forest of Death. I could have made a bigger impact on the lives of my boys…

"Hn. Dobe." Sasuke fondly smirked. I turned to look at him in surprise. But of _course_ he'd have better memories. He wasn't as weak and useless as I was when we were young. I felt myself get angry. I wasn't mad at Sasuke or Naruto or even Kakashi-sensei, I was just mad at myself. I blamed everything on myself. If I had just been keener, fought harder, sought extra help all those times I stayed at home and brushed my _stupid_ hair because "Sasuke-kun" didn't want to train with me… I could have prevented literally _everything_. Nothing could excuse how badly I had my head in my ass as a kid. Nothing but more training. That being thought, I abruptly eased into my fighting stance.

Sasuke— alert as ever— tensed and jumped away, a hand hovering over his kunai pouch on his thigh. I smirked. He had good reflexes, as I expected. He narrowed his eyes at me.

"Let's do this." I smirked. I needed to try to fuck something up_ now_. I hated memories. Anyway, Tsunade-sama had taught me three different taijutsu styles. The first was her very own style. It was designed to usurp Orochimaru's taijutsu style, making me and Sasuke almost _natural _enemies. If I'm correct— which I undoubtedly am—, Sasuke's familiar with the Uchiha style, which, thanks to some information from Naruto and Kakashi-sensei, I was able to deduce is a bunch of short, quick, successive movements that had a lot of power and strength behind them. Now— also thanks to Naruto's big mouth—I was sure that Sasuke had his own taijutsu style based on his own instincts. Naruto said it reminded him somewhat of Bee's breakdancing. I remembered the fight I saw up on the hospital roof too. Sasuke was flexible and could think quickly in a tight spot. Thus, I was prepared and knew he'd be using deadly combinations of all three of those styles.

Me? I'd be using a deadly combination of Tsunade's brawler style, my own style, which consisted of a lot of evasive dodging, and precise, quick strikes and Lee's fluid, almost whip-like Kirigakure style that required a lot of quick, flexible movements, much like Sasuke's but more tailored for my body— I'd be eternally grateful to both him and Gai-sensei for helping me train. Shinobi were flexible— I had actually seen _a lot_ of flexible men, but kunoichi were always more flexible and that was what Gai and Lee helped me focus on. Kunoichi bodies were just designed to be more flexible. We were contortionists without really actually being contortionists. I'd be giving Sasuke an amazing run for his money today.

Sasuke took his opening stance. His body was tense, slightly side-faced, arms slightly raised. He was starting in Orochimaru's style, directly opposite of my Tsunade-style. Heh. Big mistake.

"Ground rules first, Sakura." He called in an authoritative tone. I liked his voice tense and guarded like that. It was sexy, but I decided not to really focus on that thought. I replied to him instead in a steady, collected tone.

"No genjutsu, ninjutsu or chakra. Just taijutsu and one kunai." I announced. "You can use the kunai whenever you feel. You don't have to start with it." I added across the six foot gap between us. Sasuke nodded, but I didn't give him time to relax.

"Start!" I called and we launched at each other. Sasuke threw a straight, precise fist at my face, which I countered with a circular, windmill movement, courtesy of my shisho. I knocked his fist away, simultaneously grabbed his wrist, pulled him to the side of my body and struck at his neck with the side of my hand. He threw himself into the direction I was already throwing him in, and used both of his hands to flip his body away and simultaneously wriggle free of my gasp. I immediately turned to face him with just enough time to block a drop kick. I spun on my heel to deflect the force of his blow, throwing him to the side again. He struck like a poisonous snake, again and again always aiming for my vital points: kidneys, liver, ribs, lungs, stomach, solar plexus, and throat. I deflected each and every strike as we danced around each other, eternally at a standstill, like Orochimaru and Tsunade always were. I flew around him in circular motions, trying to get at his face. Annoyingly, he pulled back, like a coiled viper. My fist was always just an inch short of his body. That pissed me off. I shouted as I aimed to knee him in the chest. He blocked with his shin and we were at a standstill again. Instinct would have to take over from this point.

Sasuke switched styles at the exact same time that I did. I hated how our minds seemed to just click in battlefield scenarios. I threw a fist at his face, which he grabbed and held. He threw a fist at my face, so I grabbed and held his wrist. He held me firmly, I held him firmly. I could tell he desperately wanted to use his lightning style, but clearly held back. I was thankful; because if this was an actual fight, there would be little I could do to block the lightning that would undoubtedly come from his open palm, so close to my face. We were both balanced and locked on one leg. I was the first to launch myself off of that leg and aim it at his temple with my free hand. He twisted his neck and dodged my attack, then used my weight and inertia against me to push me away from him. After we were free of each other, he fell back a few paces to give us distance, but I was back on him instantly, like an ant army at a picnic.

He spun away from me, using his heels and soon enough we were back-to-back elbowing each other from behind. I back-kicked at his Achilles tendon and dove forward into a roll. He jumped to evade my last attack and spun around mid-air, bounding after me as soon as his feet hit the grass.

I just about sprung up from my roll, but decided against standing and went right back to rolling as Sasuke cart-wheeled, trying to strike me with his heels and palms as I was on the ground. I would _not_ let him make a Sakura pancake today, so I used my hands to push myself far into the air. He jumped up to meet me, of course. We tackled, trying to fight each other in mid-air, got stuck on each other again, and then pushed ourselves away with plentiful force, sliding backwards on our heels as soon as we hit the ground. I was breathing hard. Sasuke was _fast_… _really fast_. Even without the usage of his chakra. For a guy he was _quick_ and that was exhilarating to me.

Naruto had more muscle tone so he was slower, but he made up for it in his attacks. They packed a _punch_. Sasuke… Uchiha Sasuke was _different_. I found a challenge in him, only because the way his body moved was so similar to my own. It was almost like fighting myself, in a way. I was fast, but he was just, _faster_ and I didn't know how that was possible, considering that I was smaller and lighter than him. I looked over at him. He was breathing just as hard, if not, harder. It must be incredibly difficult for him to move his body at that speed without chakra. If I strained my eyesight I could see little beads of sweat forming at his temple. At least I was giving him a good workout. He lunged at me when he noticed me picking him apart with my eyes. And he decided to use his Uchiha style.

Fuck. This style was dangerous. Only because he would be able to take a hit from me but land five on me at the same time that he took that small damage I gave. He looked dangerous coming at me, fists, feet, elbows and knees flying everywhere, his body moving at sharp angles. I would be a fucking liar if I didn't admit that I was getting turned on just watching him move. I used Lee's style to fluidly evade _everything. _I wasn't _stupid_. I wouldn't hit him, not while he was using this style. I would have to use a combination of styles if I wanted to punch him and get away with it.

Actually… why not do something I learned from Naruto? I looked over his shoulder and widened my eyes in fear. He stopped, obviously high off of adrenaline and turned to look at what had "scared" me, mid-punch. It was clear that he didn't forget this was a spar. This wasn't as serious to him as it was to me. That's why I was able to use dirty tricks. That's why he fell for those dirty tricks. Now, before you preach about honor and nobility, let me remind you that being a ninja is all about trickery. If you could confuse your opponent, you were golden. So I did.

I got him.

WHAM!

My fist connected to his beautiful face and he flew backwards, skidding across the ground. He was up in a second, hand at his face, glaring at me, venomously.

"That was dirty!" He hissed in his baritone, obviously pissed. His sharingan was spinning. I was freakishly elated that I pissed him off enough for him to activate it. This wasn't normal.

"That was a Naruto-style move." I grinned triumphantly. "Besides, you deserved it for leaving me on a bench. I haven't chewed you out about that for eight years; I think it's about time I did." I stuck my tongue out and his eyes widened, and his anger faded. He smirked and his eyes bled back to black.

"I already apologized for that." He reminded me of last night. Yes, in fact, he _did _apologize, but that didn't mean it made things right. Me punching him? _That_ made things right. I don't know why.

"And now that you got what you deserve, I accept your apology and forgive you." I smiled. "Shall we continue? No more Naruto-tricks, I promise." I held up my hand in a show of over-exaggerated honor.

"Aa. Good acting, by the way." I was surprised he complemented me, but he said no more and threw himself towards me again. By this point it was clear that he realized his Uchiha style was his best weapon against me, so I decided to start using those combination moves I was talking about before. I struck like Tsunade, but dodged fluidly like Lee, and sometimes acted completely on instinct like myself, when the time was right. I managed to tag Sasuke in irrelevant spots like his shoulders and thighs, but we both knew that if I was using my chakra enhanced strength he'd have broken bones. Several times his eyes had widened when I managed to touch him. He wasn't an idiot. He knew it would've hurt _bad_ if I was fighting for real. Anyway, it's not like he didn't get a chance to hit me back for all the times I hit him, either. Sasuke was strong for his deceptive speed. If you weren't observant or at all familiar with him, you would think he relied mainly on speed to get you, not power. But that wasn't true. His hits _hurt_. My thighs and shoulders were _aching._ He grabbed my arm at one point to throw me to the side, which he succeeded in, and I was sure that I would have bruises there later. My point was that he was fast _and_ strong and an unknowing enemy would have his ass handed to him because it was practically _inhuman_ to be _that _quick and _that _powerful the way Sasuke was without his chakra.

Regardless, I didn't mind him being rough. He was treating me like Naruto never could: like an equal. He knew I was dangerous and thus he treated me like I was. It was actually a relief, because we were both able to push ourselves to our limits. Somehow, we ended up running to the side, bringing ourselves closer to the trees that surrounded the training grounds. I just noticed that we had been fighting for a while and that we had avoided the wooden posts completely. I didn't know if that was my doing or if Sasuke realized that I'd rather not be reminded of our genin days and decided to move away from the posts during our spar…

Anyway, it wasn't long before we were shoving and dodging each other at close-range again. I pulled at his shirt; he tried to palm my chin. I dodged, he grabbed my sleeve. We held each other by our clothes for some reason as we kicked at each other. I pulled my kunai out, just as he was about to throw me again, and cut my sleeve off. At that moment, he was still holding onto the sleeve and was pulling me by it with the intention to throw me with so much force that his arm flailed away when the fabric was suddenly detached from me. His coal eyes widened in surprise as he tore the rest of the fabric away.

I took that as my opportunity to jab him in the stomach. His muscles tensed on instinct for the hit because he realized it was going to connect a little too late and I _rocked_ his abs. He flew backwards into a tree. I flew forward with my kunai and aimed it at his face. Lightning fast, he pulled his kunai out just in time, and blocked mine with his. Sparks flew off of the blades as they connected. We ignored them. His eyes were narrowed and determined. Sasuke did _not_ like surprises. He raised his fist to jab me in the ribs. I countered it with another circular motion and pinned his wrist to the rough bark of the tree. He smirked down at me. I was pressed up against him on an angle. I prayed he wouldn't notice the tiny tree root beneath my right foot that _could_ possibly imbalance me. Our wrists started shaking. The blades that were connected started to make ugly grating sounds. I could hear the metal of my kunai being dulled by his.

"You ruined the shirt I paid for." He commented off-handedly and somehow, his dark eyes almost _sensually _trailed down my exposed shoulder and arm. Or rather, he studied me so intently his gaze _felt _sensual... like it was last night. My heart rate quickened. I used extra strength to shove our deadlocked kunai closer to his nose. He shook his head.

"Do you really think I'm oblivious, Sakura?" He smirked.

Fuck. What?

And just like that, the outside of his foot connected sharply with the inside of mine. My ankle buckled atop the uneven tree root and I had to shift all of my weight onto my other leg to not stumble and fall like a fool. I was planning on jumping away, but Sasuke had caught my left arm and threw me to the soft ground. I tried to use my arm to maybe flip myself away as I was falling, instead of just letting myself eat grass, but Sasuke caught my now pulsating right ankle and pulled me back towards him before I could throw myself into another evasive roll. My plan to not eat grass completely failed as he stepped forward and open-palmed my shoulder. I fell to the ground with a soft exhale of the wind that was knocked out of my lungs. All of that happened so fast and in mid-air that my head was almost spinning. However, I wasn't done yet. Sasuke moved to jump on top of me but I rolled over despite being completely winded and stood to my feet, my muscles begging for oxygen. I took a few breaths as I somersaulted backwards into the forest, kunai in front of me on instinct. When my eyes were able to calmly scan my surroundings, I noticed that Sasuke had disappeared. Fuck.

Hide. It was ingrained into me after years in the field. Fucking hide so hard you camouflage yourself into the scenery.

So I did. Only now, I was paranoid. My back was to the tree I was leaning against. The setting sun was casting long shadows on the forest floor. I tried very hard to sense Sasuke, diminishing my own chakra as low as I could. I could never push it as far away as Karin could, because I relied on it too much, but I could certainly try my damnest, especially now. I couldn't sense him. Where the _hell_ is he? A soft, wraith-like rush of wind above me alerted me to his presence. I leapt forward as Sasuke landed in the spot I was in before at the base of the tree. I somehow managed to be fast enough to turn around and point my kunai at him. He smirked as he rose to his full height from his crouched position in the tall grass.

"What gave me away?" He asked, his broad shoulders rising and falling so slightly and perfectly in time with his breathing. Apparently, he had trained with Karin at some point before she started hating him as well because it was hard to be undetectable from that close range. I smirked in response to him.

"Nothing in particular." I chirped. Technically, it was his clothes that made the barest of sounds as he dove down towards me, but I wasn't about to tell him that. Next thing you know he'd get competitive and take his shirt off.

He narrowed his eyes in annoyance.

"When your opponent is paranoid they pay attention to the smallest things." I murmured cryptically. He darted forward again, pure determination in his body language and this time we battled with our kunai. I tried to elbow him as he tried to kick me. Nothing worked for either of us. We were both exceptionally good. I was secretly pleased that I had gotten so much better over the years. Our blades connected several times before we jumped back, after another tight deadlock.

I took a chance and threw my kunai right at him. He realized he wouldn't dodge it in time. He threw his to counter it. Both weapons connected with a distinct metal-on-metal sound and flew in opposite directions, his just barely missing my face, mine just barely missing his. We were both getting tired. I could hear his soft breaths and I'm sure he could hear mine.

The sun had gone down and the sky was a dark periwinkle color. Sasuke looked up at the stars that were starting to peek out. I looked at a firefly that zipped by. We were both still tense, but Sasuke stepped out of his fighting position and held out two fingers, a neutral expression on his now-bruised face. I widened my eyes at his actions. He still remembered that academy thing where you locked fingers as a sign of friendship after a spar? I smiled. I stepped forward and grabbed his two fingers with mine. His fingers curled around mine and we truced for now.

"It won't be the same next time we spar." He deadpanned. I nodded, understandingly. Yes next time I would fight like a demon from hell and kick his ass. Today was really just for kicks and for something to do and maybe, in a way, it was for us to get to know each other better as well. At least, that's what I think he was trying to tell me through his attacks. I was blatantly trying to tell him that I was not one to be fucked with and that I had obviously changed. He was just trying to understand how exactly I had changed. It was an interesting, albeit obviously silent conversation but I was satisfied with the communication. I had never really communicated with Sasuke in our youth. I was kind of glad now that we had become friends. He was definitely a good listener. He was still the same old attitude-y Sasuke, but somewhere during these four years he had become accepting and, to some degree, understanding.

"Yes, it will be much more interesting with ninjutsu and genjutsu involved." I agreed. He let go and I raised my hand up to his face. He tensed for just a second, but he relaxed once he saw the green of my healing chakra. I healed the bruise on his face, hovering my hand just centimeters from his cheek. I won't lie, some helpless, shameful part of me wanted to touch his face and see what happened, but I squished it mercilessly. Fuck _no _I wasn't going to even let myself _think_ about him that way. It was over. It had _been _over long ago between us. Actually, if you really thought about it, it had never even begun between us, so why did I still stupidly have thoughts and urges like that?

_**Because you actually love him, stupid**_.

We've been over this. There's no way I could love him. It's just sexual attraction, remember? He never showed an ounce of kindness to me, aside from that one "thank you". We never even talked. I never _really_ knew or understood him. He never cared about me that way, either. So why would I love someone who couldn't care less about me? I was obviously just attracted to his pretty face. He was always a selfish asshole.

_**Riiiight… so all those times he protected you on missions were—**_

A hindrance, Inner. He prevented me from getting stronger. He should have let my dumb ass get a beating or two. I would have gotten the point quicker that way. We would have probably become friends that way because I would have realized how serious this life actually is and I would have forgotten all about my dumb feelings for him because I would have freaking realized that they would have gotten me killed. I should have been stronger; I should have realized that I needed to find someone to help me as best as they cou—

"Do you always heal injuries you specifically inflict?" He crossed his arms and spoke in a snarky tone, interrupting my disturbing thoughts. I looked up at him. His eyes, so dark and sexy amidst the silvery glow of the full moon only fueled more disturbing thoughts about him and his damn handsomeness. I smirked to cover up my inner insanity.

**Sasuke's hot.**

Well, we shouldn't think about that. Sasuke's a friend. A _friend_.

**But what if Sasuke thinks we're hot?**

He doesn't.

**Liar. He's a man. He does. You think he doesn't notice us? You know he notices. Stop being blind on purpose.**

...

**Fuck him, already!**

_No_. Shut up.

"Only for friends, Sasuke." I replied because it was the honest truth. I didn't heal enemies, not until they were properly chained up first.

"Hn." His face was now healed so I pulled my hand away.

"Let's get to the store." I tipped my head towards the training ground and the village that obviously lay beyond it.

"Mn." He nodded and we walked out of the woods, past the nostalgic training posts and back to the residential area of Konoha. I contemplated on his Uchiha taijutsu style, because Inner had finally shut her mouth, and wondered if there was any style that would be able to directly combat it. Maybe Tsunade-sama remembered what her grandfather had taught her? Maybe she could teach it to me? I decided to file that idea away for the next time I was in the hokage tower, or the next time Tsunade-sama needed a break to train and get some exercise. I'm sure there's plenty more she had left to teach me…

Again, we got strange looks as we walked through the busier streets of town. A lot of civilians glared at Sasuke after they saw my torn shirt. Did they think he was an abusive boyfriend? I probably looked like a civilian with my innocent pink hair and lack of hitai-ate. I looked over at him. He was focusing his attention straight ahead, ignoring the stares, as usual. He looked slightly annoyed, though that was only because I could see behind his neutral mask. Hah, he could tell what they were thinking too.

I smiled, despite the looks we were getting. For some reason I just couldn't see Sasuke being an awful significant other. If he didn't like someone he'd probably just leave. He seemed _passive _nowadays; I doubt he'd even waste his anger on an annoying girlfriend. I almost shrugged to myself and reminded myself to just look away. He'd catch me staring if I stared and that would be awkward to explain. We moved on through the bustling market and entered the grocery store. Some civilian girls our age buying ice cream started to whisper about us… well, specifically about _me_. You didn't have to be a ninja to hear what they were saying.

"_Ew who is she?" _

"_Look at her pink hair, how awful…" _

"_Wait, she's hokage-sama's apprentice isn't she?" _

"_So? What's she doing with Uchiha-kun?" _

"_Maybe she' special to him?" _

"_That monstrosity? Yeah right? How could he be attracted to her? She looks like she's not even from a prominent family." _

I ignored it. They hadn't been through the war. They had no idea what Naruto, Sasuke and I had been through. Sasuke lightly shoved me into an aisle, just as we rounded a corner, out of the sights of the gossiping girls.

"What the _hell _was that for?" I hissed. I almost fell into the shelf, too! _That _would have been _so_ embarrassing! He shrugged.

"You were spacing out." He accused.

I _so _wasn't. He knew I wasn't. So what the fuck? I decided not to read into his actions. They were extremely complicated as is. If I started to dissect his motives for everything I would go crazier than I already am. Still miffed, I walked towards the baking isle, Sasuke right alongside me, looking as bored as ever. I smiled. A small tray of four cupcakes would be enough. Kumiko-obaa could give some away to her grandchildren. I turned around, and swung past Sasuke who watched me maneuver around in the aisle. I grabbed a large, silver bowl, a whisk, some pre-made batter and a tube of icing and a small tube of rainbow sprinkles. I placed everything inside the silver bowl. I should have brought a basket.

Mercifully, Sasuke took some of the items out of the bowl for me. It's not that it was heavy to carry, of course. Pfft! I could pick up trees with one _hand_ a bowl full of stuff was nothing. I was more worried about some of the items falling out. With less in the bowl, I wouldn't have to worry as much. I smiled up at Sasuke as thanks. He nodded and we moved to the register. I recognized the girl at the register. Her name was Aya. She had a shock of white hair and bright, teal eyes. Her skin was exotically tanned. She had her hair up today, her bangs lazily hanging to the side in soft waves. She smiled at me.

"Sakura-san!" She exclaimed.

"Aya-san, it's good to see you!" I grinned.

"Eh, you never told me you had a boyfriend!" She looked at and mildly pointed at Sasuke, who I _refused _to turn towards in such an embarrassing situation. Calmly, I shook my head in response, even though my inner was smirking smugly at me somewhere in the back of my mind.

"Sasuke is just a friend, Aya, please." I begged her softly with my eyes and she blushed, waving her hands frantically as a result.

"A-ah! Gomen! I didn't mean to insinuate anything!" She looked up at Sasuke for forgiveness and must have gotten none out of him. "I-I just thought— well— you're buying _baking _supplies and—

I laughed to interrupt her red-faced rambling. Sheepishly, she laughed along with me and started to scan the items.

"It's been a while since I've last seen you, Sakura-san! How is the hospital?" She changed topics to settle the awkward conversation. I was glad to talk about the hospital. It was always my comfort zone.

"It's doing well! I have a shift there tomorrow; maybe we can meet up for lunch, if you're not busy." I invited, because I genuinely _liked_ Aya. She was fun to hang out with and she never pestered me if I was out on missions for a while.

"Ah, I wish I could, but it's my mother's birthday tomorrow! We're having a small family get-together for her. Speaking of mothers! I heard yours is pregnant! Is it going to be a boy or a girl!?" Aya excitedly asked. I blushed at the thought of becoming a big sister so late in life.

"Ah… well... I don't know. I chose not to be involved. Shizune has my mom's case. It would just be a little weird, being my mother's doctor, and all." I shrugged, but it really was awkward. Imagine having to deliver your own sibling? Ugh…

"Oh, I see, so they're keeping it a surprise, huh?"

"Yeah, I won't get to know until he or she arrives." I smiled.

"Will you teach them how to be a ninja?" She asked.

I laughed. Like my mom would _let_ me.

"I think after me my mother wants a _normal_ child." And Aya burst into laughter. I grinned and chuckled with her.

"You gave her quite some trouble, didn't you?" She smiled, her teal eyes glittering under her thick, white lashes.

"All the time." I agreed, remembering the missions where I'd come home bloodied and beat up. Sometimes I ended up passing out just outside the house. That was about when I decided to get my own place. My mother just couldn't handle seeing me that way. My father's heart was starting to get bad, too. He would get angry, wanting to beat up whoever had hurt his "little girl".

"Ah, it's going to be twenty-three gold, Sakura-san." Aya mentioned. Sasuke was already pulling out his wallet. Right, I forgot I wasn't paying for this. That was an odd sensation… But fuck _me_,I'm going to owe Sasuke _so_ much money after this week. Some part of me freaked out as I remembered that. I winced as I saw them exchange money… that was another twenty-three gold tacked onto my unofficial "tab". I'm surprised Sasuke hasn't said anything about money yet…

"Ah, arigato-Uchiha-sama!" Aya smiled as Sasuke handed her a fifty-gold bill. I grimaced at the bill. Fucking Sasuke. He _would_ carry around fifty and hundred-gold bills just _because_.

"Hn." Of course; how else would he respond?

She gave him his change and he stowed it away neatly into his wallet, shoving the coins and receipt in his pocket. I didn't miss how he took both bags off of the counter as well.

"Ja-ne." He drawled and started to walk away, assuming I'd follow. Aya pulled me towards her by my torn shirt when his back turned. For a civilian she was sneaky, and surprisingly strong.

"Not your boyfriend, huh? Yet he just paid for _all_ of _your _baking supplies…" She spoke slyly into my ear and then winked at me. I blushed, _fuck_. Okay, _yes_ Sasuke was doing "boyfriend-esque" things but I _swear _that was only because he _had_ to! Ugh, I could never explain the situation to Aya fully and Sasuke was almost to the exit. Damn him! The girl laughed at my rosy cheeks as I awkwardly shook my head in weak argument to her words, waved a silent goodbye and caught up to Sasuke just as he exited. Silently, we made our way back to the apartment complex, my face as pink as my hair. What the hell was _with_ everyone and embarrassing me today! Was today national "Embarrass Sakura" day? Firs Konohamaru and now Aya… kami-sama, I just want a break!

"Let me carry a bag." I spoke because Sasuke was carrying three and I needed to get my mind off of the idea of everyone assuming that he was my boyfriend. Ugh that was an awful thought to even remind myself I was thinking. It didn't help that I had found out _completely_ on accident that he was um, well-endowed down there too. Fuck Konahamaru and fuck Aya. The two of them were horrible. Oh, and fuck Inner too for her lewd thoughts and suggestions.

_**Oh and fuck Sasuke too. Just fuck him. You'll get him out of your system that way. **_

SHUT. UP.

Insensitively, she gave me a rated-R image of what Sasuke would look like on top of me…naked… and turned on… _Great_ Inner, that was _not _helpful. Eternally, fuck you.

Somehow I had managed to calm my swirling mind down. Sasuke spoke, and honestly, his voice somehow grounded me. I think it played on how my mind always wanted to pay attention to what he was saying.

"Here." He held up the lightest bag and I took it from him without argument. Normally, if it were Naruto with me, I would argue and end up carrying _all_ of the bags in a show of my own machismo but this was Sasuke and my thoughts were scrambled so I just kept my mouth shut. Eventually, I realized we were climbing the steps of the complex. We were on our floor. I looked longingly at my stained door and wondered if the landlady was at the management office. She would _not_ like how bleached-out the wood of the door was in certain spots… I grimaced.

"Sasuke." He stopped just as he opened the door to his apartment and looked at me. I held the bag out to him. "I'm going to go see the landlady before she goes home." He nodded in understanding and took the bag away from me. His fingers were warm as they nonchalantly brushed against mine.

"I'll leave the door unlocked." He informed and stepped inside. I turned around mechanically and bounded down the stairs. The landlady's office was on the first floor. I found it and knocked twice.

"Enter!" Came a voice from inside. I stepped inside and smiled at the fifty-year-old woman. She had long, black hair with a few grey strands and still-dazzling navy eyes. She smiled at me, wearing an apron over her brown dress. Her hair was up in a neat bun, not a single hair out of place.

"Ah, Haruno-chan!" She smiled at me. "Is everything all right?" She asked as I stepped inside the basic office filled with a desk, phone, lamp, some cabinets and several chairs all in an earthy beige-green-brown-black color scheme. I nodded.

"Yes, Tanzuka-san, I just lost my key. I'm going to need a new lock. I'll pay for it, of course, I'm just locked out." I blushed and the elderly woman shook her head.

"You shinobi kids." She stepped away from the cabinet she was standing at and sat at her desk. She pulled out a drawer and filled out a paper.

"It'll be about five days before they come to install the new lock." Tanzuka-san explained

"I know." I replied. "I'm sorry; it fell out of my purse." I apologized.

"Do you have a place to go in the meantime?" She queried in her aged voice as she filled more stuff out on the paper.

"Yes. My teammate lives next door so I'm staying with him." I gave away too much information. Her head snapped up and she studied me with fierce eyes. I cocked a brow. I could take care of myself. Did she think Sasuke was dangerous? After studying me, she went back down to filling out the paper without another word. She made a big "x" where I had to sign at the bottom.

"The fees will be added to your rent with a receipt at the end of the month. Sign there that you agree to those terms." She sternly explained. I read through the terms quickly, agreed to them and signed the paper. I placed the pen back down on the desk.

"You be careful, now." She warned.

"Um… right…" I replied awkwardly. "Thanks again, and I'm sorry for the irresponsibility." I apologized honestly. She shook her head.

"I've dealt with much worse throughout the years, child." She explained and I nodded, bowed and left the office, a frown on my face. I knew the village had mixed feelings about Sasuke. I knew there were people that respected him and people that were wary of him. It just pained me to think that if it weren't for Naruto he would have pretty much nowhere to live, if even Tanzuka-san, the nicest and most shinobi-friendly renter in the village was wary of him. I glared at the floor on my slow trip back up to my shared floor with Sasuke. He had been through so much over the years and I could tell he was trying really hard to settle back into life in Konoha. It just wasn't fair that people were still giving him shit four years after the war. In my mind, only I, Naruto, Tsunade-sama, Kakashi-sensei and to an extent, Sai were allowed to give Sasuke well-deserved shit. I mean, I wasn't _surprised_ that the villagers gave him shit, of course, I just wasn't happy about it. Sasuke was one of _my_ boys and _no one _hurt _my _boys without getting a beating for it. I was pissed that I couldn't really do anything about it right this moment. I sighed as I opened his door to find that he was already mixing the batter, focusing his sight on the box on the counter.

I was so pissed off five seconds ago and the sight of Sasuke _baking _with an adorable spot of chocolate batter on his cheek threw me into a fit of giggles. Sasuke growled and hissed my name in warning as he snapped his head towards me. I laughed more as I took my shoes off and walked towards him.

"You— you're so funny, you know that?" I laughed again because Uchiha _Sasuke_ the self-proclaimed "avenger" was fucking _baking _like my mother on Saturday afternoons.

"Shut up and help. I don't know if I'm doing this right." He glowered at me. Snickering quietly, I went over, washed my hands at the sink, which was free of the tea cups we left behind earlier— courtesy of Sasuke's neat tendencies— and looked at the bowl and the delicate, green whisk in his masculine hand. The batter was still chunky; he had to mix more.

"Have you been following the instructions on the back this whole time?" I asked and he nodded, quietly waiting for my verdict. "Then you should be good. Just mix the batter more. There's nothing really to it. Mix it until it's smooth and not so chunky." I explained. He nodded again and continued mixing, this time putting more effort into it.

"I'm… gonna go shower really quick…" I decided because I could see the muscles of his arm flex beneath his skin and it was fucking sexy… and distracting… not to mention that his kitchen smelled like chocolate, too.

"What?" He turned and looked at me, confused. Shit. Why did he have to question everything? Just let me go shower you stupid sexy jerk!

"You're doing good." I held my hands up and unconsciously took a step back. "When I get out I'll make dinner…" I supplied, keeping my voice even and fluid. He studied me with his impossibly dark, ethereal eyes and finally nodded. Robotically, I turned and walked towards the open door of his room to grab my improvised pajamas. I glanced at him as I walked to the bathroom. He was still diligently mixing, ignoring me or completely unaware that I was shamelessly looking at him. I gave his back and the Uchiha fan on it a tiny smile as I closed the bathroom door behind me and took off my sweaty, ragged clothes. I frowned at the cut shirt sleeve as I pulled the red tunic off. Ah well, whatever. Tomorrow I was going to be stuck at the hospital most of the day so I wouldn't ruin the clothes Sasuke had paid for with his money. I slapped my palm against my forehead. _Uuuuuugh! _I owed Sasuke _money_. I hated owing _anyone _money. It was probably because I was my shisho's student and my shisho owed nearly _everyone _money. I rolled my eyes. As soon as I was back in my apartment I'd get my wallet and take a trip to the bank with him. I sighed, taking the hair tie out of the end of my braid. I let my hair loose and shook it out.

I smiled. Overall, I had a good spar with Sasuke today. In a couple of days we'd be using ninjutsu and genjutsu too. _That _was going to be fun. I'd get to test out all the things I had learned and developed these last four years in a _legitimate _fight. I took off my pants and clenched my fists at my sides. I would have to kick his ass around _good_. But I was also worried he'd win and be fucking _smug_ about it, because even though Sasuke had changed a lot, he was _still_ Sasuke and Sasuke was a smug bastard when he bested you at anything. He always was, even when we were kids. He loved to gloat and goad Naruto once we were all in a team together. I turned on the water of the shower. The steam filled the bathroom and I realized how fucking turned on I was. Ugh, I'd have to take care of this _before_ I did something stupid tonight.

-X-

When I stepped out in my pajamas, carrying my dirty clothes, Sasuke was sitting on his counter, glaring at his stove. The little light was on inside the stove and I could see the cupcakes were coming along nicely. He had already cleaned the counter and placed the dishes in the sink. He still had batter dotting his cheeks, hair and forearms. I chuckled as I walked past him to place my clothes on top of the laundry pile in his room. Once that was done I walked up to stand next to him and watch the cupcakes.

"They're taking forever." He complained once I arrived, but I knew he was just whining because he had never made cupcakes before and he didn't want to screw up. Leave it to Sasuke to take something as simple as baking so seriously.

I chuckled and put a confident hand on my hip. My sexual frustration was staved off for now and I was confident in myself around him once again. "So go shower." I easily responded and wiped off the batter from his cheek. I placed my finger in my mouth and sucked off the chocolate. He blushed and touched his other cheek, finally noticing how dirty he had gotten. He glared at the chocolate on his finger.

"Fuck." He cursed and went to wipe the batter on his pants. I grabbed his wrist, stopped him and wiped the batter off of his finger onto mine. I licked again. Mmmmmm chocolate. I smiled. It was tasty, but of course Sasuke had a habit of disliking everything good in the world. Yep. Only Sasuke would detest sweets. Only him.

"Don't waste batter." I chastised. "It's tasty." I reasoned as I walked over to the fridge and opened it up to see what I could make us for dinner.

"It's unhealthy." He shot back and I heard him slide off of his counter.

"So is ramen and overdosing on tomatoes." I replied just as confidently.

"Hn." I could _feel_ him roll his eyes as I started pulling out ingredients to make dinner with.

"Before you go, could you get me a cutting board, and a pan, please? I'm making stir fry tonight." I spoke, still fishing around in the stuffed refrigerator. I smiled because he had gotten _everything _on the list, whether he liked it personally or not.

"Aa." I heard him open the annoying cabinet way above the stove. He pulled out a deep pan and a cutting board just as I stood to place the meat and veggies on the counter closest to me. He placed the pan and board on the counter next to the icing and sprinkles, and walked over to his kitchen drawer. He pulled out a sharp-looking cutting knife and a wooden spoon. He placed both gently down on the counter.

"Arigato." I called over my shoulder as he walked away. "How many more minutes for the cupcakes?" I asked.

"Ten." He replied as he made his way over to his room and then to the bathroom I just vacated. I smiled and got to work cutting the vegetables first.

-X-

GAH! I can't get over how unintentionally cute Sasuke and Sakura are together! Please review? Reviews make me happy! How about that Inner? I love Inner Sakura. Naturally, in this fic, since Sakura became comfortable being her inner self that she was as a girl, this Sakura's Inner is different. She's a little more open about her sexuality and femininity, whereas Sakura herself outwardly is not. Sakura's Inner becoming more vocal is also a sign of Sakura becoming more and more um… insane I guess? Who knows. Whatever.

Pretty pleeeeeease give me feedback!?

Disclaimer: I don't own _shit_. I don't make money writing this.

See 'ya later, Space Cowboy!


	14. The more you know

KISEKI

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YAAAAAY! BACK TO SASUKE'S POV! I would have never thought Sasuke's POV would turn into my comfort zone but it somehow did! Thank you so kindly for those who left detailed reviews and for those of you that reviewed at all! I'm so happy to hear from you guys! You people have no idea how much reviews actually help motivate me to keep writing this!

-X-

I stood under the hot water for the longest time, just thinking. I had finished washing minutes ago. I turned the heat up on the water so it relaxed my tense muscles. I melted under the added heat. It felt wonderful. Sparring with Sakura was enlightening and exhilarating at the same time. She was a different opponent than I was used to versing. Until recently, only Lee was able to match and surpass my speed in regards to taijutsu. Sakura must have trained with him at some point because she had resorted to using his Kirigakure style several times. Even though it was only taijutsu, she had pleasantly surprised me by giving me a decent workout today. She was determined and dangerous. Those two adjectives were mercilessly attractive when they were tacked onto her. She had changed so much in so many ways; but I wasn't disappointed. In-case you're wondering, yes, I had already jacked off. Don't think I forgot that her breasts had rubbed against my dick earlier today, no thanks to that Konohamaru brat.

I smacked my forehead, trying not to remember how soft they felt on such a sensitive part of my body. When she fell into me, I honestly just wanted to prevent her from hitting the ground... I didn't really _think _about what I was doing, I just acted on instinct. I wasn't expecting us to land… like _that_; no. Kami-sama damn it! Sakura, Sakura _Sakura_! My world had blurred into a myriad of pink, green and red this last week. It would continue to be that way for another week unless one of us got a mission. I sighed, frustrated again. I didn't know how to handle her, or us or whatever we had between us right now. I didn't know how to handle myself with her. That was the problem. How to behave around Sakura? That was the question.

Everything was organized simply in my mind. I know what I want from her. I know that what I feel for her isn't…_temporary_… like it is with the other women I have been attracted to in the past. She's different from the rest; she's important and in a sense, special. In fact, if I think about it, she always has been that way; I was just always blind to it. I've realized that I don't just look at her body; I look at _her_ and it's clear to me that she sees _me_ for exactly _who_ I am as well. The attraction I have to her isn't just aesthetic. She's intelligent, kind, caring, strong, fun and slightly insane. That works. It's what I want in a woman. There's just a few problems….

One… I can't believe I'm saying this, but… I really _shouldn't _reproduce. Why tie myself down to one person when I don't plan on having children? That's _insane_. It would just breed more problems, stress and emotional issues. No one said I was sane to begin-with, but I digress. Relationships lead to marriage and marriage obviously leads to children. And I really shouldn't have children. Not only do I not understand children I don't believe I have the patience for them. And if they grow to be fuck-ups like me… I don't know what I'll do. Sakura is the type of woman who _deserves_ a loving husband. She _deserves _someone that can give her a happy ending to the story of her life. Why the _fuck_ would I tie her down and take away from her everything a grown woman would want?

Two. Sakura hates me for shitting all over…well, all over her _life. _I'm sure she forgave me because she's forgiving but a person doesn't just magically forget and trust you again after you've nearly killed them, their loved ones, promised to obliterate their home, pushed them away from you, made them feel insignificant and left them on a bench after you rejected their heart-felt feelings, even though that one's probably behind us now that she decked me for it...

Three. I think Sakura's over her feelings for me. Actually, she's clearly and _pristinely_ over her feelings for me. Either she realized it's not _worth _loving me, or she realized that her feelings for someone like me were a danger to someone like her and she dropped them cold. We obviously have a history, even if it's a small one, but she won't dare set foot on that history. Actually, she avoids it like the plague. Obviously she wants to move past that. I got the point from her today during our spar. She's changed. She doesn't like me and she doesn't want me to _think_ she likes me. Remotely. At all. She friend-zoned me like that dork in that drama at Naruto's house a couple years ago. There's no coming back from that, apparently. Also, according to that bartender, Sakura isn't looking for a long-term relationship— for whatever mysterious reason that may be— so obviously it's clear that yes, she's attracted to me because she likes what she sees, but by no means will she ever want me like _that_.

Those are some _big_ problems. But of course, I'm Uchiha Sasuke… my brain doesn't take "no" for an answer. It doesn't accept "it just won't work out for you" as a valid reason to _not_ do something. The only thing keeping me at bay is the fact that I might actually _hurt _or even _upset_ Sakura more by showing her that I want to be with her. Bottom line, I need some good fucking advice, and Kakashi, because he's the father-figure in my life, is going to help me. I would have to seek him out tomorrow before I go insane with frustration. I turned off the water and stepped out to dry myself off. I pulled on my navy pajama pants and grabbed my dirty clothes. I ran the towel through my hair and hung it on the rack next to Sakura's red one— hah, funny how _my_ red towel became _her _red towel so effortlessly— before I stepped out to the mouth-watering smell of stir fry. My stomach audibly grumbled and Sakura turned her head to look at me, eyes wide. My face was hot again and she laughed at me, turning back around to mix whatever delicious things she was mixing in that pan. I moved stealthily and quickly to my room, dropped my clothes atop hers on the large pile of dirty laundry— fucking blushed _again_ because I caught sight of a promiscuous black thong!— and stepped out. Sakura had already finished the cupcakes. The cupcake tray was in the sink and she had put the icing and the sprinkles away. I grimaced at my sink. I never had so many dishes to do in my entire life. Sakura's laughter interrupted my thoughts.

"I'll do the dishes if you want, Sasuke." She offered. Since when the fuck do I show my thoughts on my face? She _must_ have deduced my distaste of dish-washing from my expression.

"You cooked." I argued and crossed my arms. She's just spending the week at my apartment; by no means is she my indentured servant while she's here. She shrugged.

"I clean up after myself all the time. I'm a big girl, Sasuke." She gently argued back and again I loved the way my name sounded in her voice. It rolled off of her tongue like she had said it a thousand times before, which I'm sure in our youth she _had_.

"I'll do them." It was my no-nonsense tone. She shrugged it off like it was no big deal.

"If you have a change of heart last-minute I'll understand. Please set the table." She replied professionally. I rolled my eyes as I pulled out dishes and utensils. She had a pot of rice cooking next to the stir fry too. I shook my head to myself as I placed the dishes and bowls for rice on the kitchen table. I somewhat resented Sakura for being so… so fucking… I don't know the word for this one… domestic? Yes domestic. Wife-like. Some odd sense of… I don't know what was telling me that she belonged right there, safe and sound in my kitchen, cooking food for _us_. Every night from now on. That whatever-it-was was fucking _annoying _and I wanted it to shut the fuck up already. I was getting tired of going in circles in my head. _This_… us being like this was probably impossible. So enough already. Just deal with it.

Nope. Whatever that feeling was, it wouldn't go away. I kept telling myself to not get used to this. I kept telling myself that in a week it would be over. She would be gone. And a few weeks from then, she'd be out on another long-term mission and I probably wouldn't see or talk to her for six months to a year. That annoying voice in the back of my head dreaded the idea of not having her here for the rest of our lives; It made me dread what it would start screaming to me when she actually left. This is fucking _bad_.

…I should have never missed that fucking key falling out of her clutch. Fucking night clubs. I hate night clubs. Hofuku and that stupid, drunk blonde girl are the reason for this war inside my head. I rubbed my eyes. They were starting to ache and so were my temples. For some reason when I was confused I always got headaches. It wasn't long before the ache turned into a full-blown migraine. I grabbed two cups for tea, hoping the migraine would just go away. I must have grabbed them too forcefully, because Sakura noticed and looked over at me from in front of the stove, concern in her eyes. Look, Sasuke. Look. She cares. She fucking cares. She cares about you, idiot!

Ugh. I wanted to hit myself. _Of course_ she cares. She's my_ teammate_ and she doesn't want to be anything more than that; stop fucking thinking about it already!

"Don't you think you should save your wrath for training instead of those poor cups?" She asked snidely and I glared at her. I wasn't in the mood for jokes, even from her. I hated headaches. She glared back at me just as heatedly. "Your fucking eyes are bloodshot, come closer." She commanded and shut off the stove in an aggravated motion, then afterwards slapping the wooden spoon down on a paper towel atop the counter. The rice was drying. We had a few minutes before we could eat. I didn't move. I didn't want her close to me. It would only make the war inside worse. She put her hands on her hips. She looked _so_ good in my shirt. I could almost _see _her stiff nipples beneath the heavy fabric.

"Sasuke." She warned once and her tone was dangerous. I gave up instantly. Fuck it. I walked over to her with straight shoulders and a stiff spine. Fuck it all.

"I'm going to pour some chakra into your eyes. It's going to feel weird because you put chakra into them regularly and mine will feel awkward poking around in them. So try not to flinch away. I don't want to risk damaging anything." She instructed, now calm and professional again.

"I have a migraine." I revealed. My eyes weren't the problem. My stupid fucking indecisive head was.

"I figured." She reached up and touched my temples, the tips of her fingers brushing my lashes as I closed my eyes and tried to relax. She poured her energy into my eyes. I could feel it seeping into the chakra pathways there. The sharingan almost activated from the stimulation. I took a deep breath to keep my chakra from spiking in response to hers. I didn't want to screw up whatever she was doing and I didn't want my eyes damaged as a result of that.

"That's weird. You have some eye strain. Hold still. I'm going to make the migraine go away, maybe it'll fix the strain on your eyes." She smelled so clean and her skin was so soft. I found her scent relaxing, even though it was turning me on that she smelled like my near-scentless soap.

A few seconds passed.

And just like that I felt the pain in my head recede. I exhaled in relief. The achiness in my eyes went away soon after. When Sakura was done she shuffled back over to the rice pot. I watched her, surprised that she didn't ask any questions or badger me about my migraines. She yawned as she turned off the rice cooker. It was only eight o' clock, was she really sleepy already? I smirked at her.

"What?" She asked as she brought the pan of stir fry over and dumped some food onto our plates. I resisted the urge to salivate at the scent of the home-cooked meal. Kami-sama… I feel like I could eat ten helpings of it. Wait fuck that; ten helpings of a food is only something Naruto could stuff down. I'm not _that_ hungry…

"Nothing. You're tired?" I asked automatically in response.

"Yeah. I have to be up at four, remember? I don't know why I'm still awake, actually." She quipped back. She carried the pan back over to the stove, and then came back for the bowls of rice. I noticed she had already made tea. She probably realized that I had a thing for tea, specifically green tea. There was something soothing about it. I grabbed the tea pot off of the stove and poured us some tea so I wouldn't just stand there while she did all the work. She came back with the rice bowls after I placed the tea pot back on the stove. We both sat down and pushed our chairs in.

"Itadakimasu." I drawled and dug in because I was fucking _starving_. My mouth practically climaxed at the mish mash of tasteful flavors in the meal. She had mixed some mild green and yellow peppers with chicken and bits of beef and thinly cut pieces of broccoli. The mixture was covered in a delectable sauce that I could tell she had come up with on her own and I had to remind myself to eat slowly.

I'm not Naruto… I have to slow the fuck down…

I wondered how I had lasted this long without a home-cooked meal like this one. I never had time to cook, so this food had been the highest quality I'd eaten in a while. My mother was the last person to make stir fry that was _this_ good. I silently thanked kami-sama for Sakura's ability to cook.

"You look like you're enjoying that." She grinned. My face got hot again. How could she always fucking tell!?

"It's good." I responded quietly and picked up my tea cup to sip from it. The matcha only added to the deliciousness. Sakura's eyes were bright and she looked like she was remembering something funny. I placed my cup down and looked at her. She took that as a cue to speak.

"I used to be a really shitty cook. I made Naruto and Sai throw up all the time." She admitted and then laughed. I almost couldn't believe her. I looked down at my half-finished plate of stir fry and rice and back at her. Sakura? A bad cook? After tasting something like this? I would have to ask Naruto myself. I smirked then, because it made sense for her to test her horrible food on dobe and Sai. I almost pitied them both, but it benefitted me in the end so I could care less.

"I don't think it's possible to make Naruto throw up." I replied and continued eating. She swallowed what she was chewing on and laughed again. I liked the sound of her laugh. It was pleasant.

"Believe me, it's entirely possible. You just have to suck as bad as I did at cooking." She snorted as she seemed to remember something else. I smirked because I knew her next statement would be funny.

"You know how Sai is really pale?" I nodded as she continued. I didn't have to nod but I did anyway. I wanted to interact with her as much as I could.

"I've never seen a green-faced man until he tried my beef stew. He _just_ barely made it to my bathroom that day. But if it weren't for him, Naruto and even Kakashi-sensei I wouldn't have improved. Choji's mom helped out a lot too." She grinned at the fond memories. I gave her a small smile in return and continued eating. I snickered into my plate at the thought of Sai throwing up. Hah. We were quiet for a few minutes.

"I haven't eaten a home-cooked meal in years." I stated. I don't know why I spoke, or why I even chose to say that but I wanted to say _something_.

"Mm. I'm not surprised. Do you know how to cook?" She asked in a slightly more serious tone.

I nodded. I knew how to cook and how to make food that tasted good. I had to learn once I was orphaned and alone. I just didn't _like_ to cook. Cooking reminded me of my mother when I was younger and no meal that I ever made would taste like the ones she made when she was alive. That rang true to this day. Sakura nodded as well.

"I don't like to cook." I don't know why I told her. Fuck it, it was out of my mouth already.

She laughed.

"Why am I not surprised? Both you and Naruto are like that. Sai is the only one who seems to care about food and out of the three of you he had the least amount of emotional nurturing while growing up." She commented. I grimaced at the thought of Sai. He was an artist wasn't he? Why did I feel slightly miffed that she talked about him fondly?

"He probably views it as an art form…" I grumbled. Cooking could be considered an art right? I think I remember Choji saying that at some point…

"You're right, he probably does. His cooking is way better than mine, anyhow." She shrugged. "Oh well." And she went back to eating.

I doubted that his cooking was better than hers. I don't think I would enjoy it the same way. My mind was suddenly assaulted with the image of Sai cooking in my kitchen, in place of Sakura. I almost threw up everything I just ate. The mental picture was repulsive and if I could burn it away with Amaterasu I would. Disgusting. My attention suddenly snapped to her because she was talking again and I _wanted _to listen.

"Naruto's a lucky jerk. I heard Hinata's cooking is amazing. He's probably eating like a king right now!" Sakura joked, but I shook my head. Naruto and his relationship with the Hyuuga girl was not all that beautiful. And Naruto was a fucking idiot for not stepping up and declaring her as his; I would stand by that statement until the day I died if I had to. I didn't say anything but again, Sakura had apparently been gifted with the ability to read my mind.

"They have a complicated relationship don't they…" Her voice was soft and I looked up from my food to find her frowning into her plate. Without really thinking, I reached over and poked the small, scarlet diamond on her forehead.

"Ouch!" She looked up, glared at me and rubbed at her forehead, much like I did when Itachi used to poke my forehead. I smirked at her, because it was funny and I see now why Itachi did it to me. The reaction was endearing.

"They'll figure it out." I assured her, because if Naruto didn't go to Hiashi himself, I planned on forging a letter in his handwriting to the man, anyway, consequences be damned. She nodded but the worry didn't leave her eyes. She finished the rest of her food and tea in silence. I was done eating not long after her and I was proud of myself for not eating like a starving animal in front of her. I watched as she collected the dishes off of the table and placed them in the sink. I was pissed at the fact that she turned on the water and got the sponge ready, so I stood up as quickly as I could. I moved behind her and wiggled the sponge free from her hand before she could avoid my hands. She twisted her neck because now she was trapped against the sink and looked up at me, annoyed.

"I said I'd do the dishes. Go to sleep." I tossed the thirsty sponge into the sink past her and turned off the water because I _knew_ she'd fight back on this one. Don't even ask me how I knew, I just did.

"Sasuke, it's _my_ mess, let me—

"No. You have to work tomorrow. Just sleep." I ran over her sentence with my own. I wasn't backing out of this one.

"But I—

"_Bed_." And I placed my hands firmly on her delicate shoulders. I planned on marching her to my room, but stubbornly, she death-gripped my countertop. Fuck. She always had to make _everything_ hard. I sighed and gripped her wrists and pulled. That didn't work. My countertop creaked under the pressure of her chakra-enhanced strength instead. Fine! Fucking damn it. I pulled her petite torso flush against mine and lifted her as high as I could, avoiding her breasts like the plague, sticking to her waist instead. I felt her tighten her abdominal muscles to prevent me from squishing her organs. Good, she wasn't stupid. She gritted her teeth. I kept lifting her until her feet weren't on the floor anymore. Eventually, I lifted her high enough and she cursed and flailed her legs.

"Fuck! No!" Her fingers lost traction at the odd angle, slipping on the bit of moisture on the counter and she released. Good. I set her down off to the side with a snooty huff from her, and placed my hands back on her shoulders and guided her to my bedroom. At first she sort of dug her heels into the floor.

Fuck. She was stubborn.

"Sakura." I grounded out her name and she sighed and let up. I continued pushing her in front of me, guiding her to my room like some sort of prisoner. I stopped at the threshold and she turned around and sent me a weak glare, but stepped inside the room anyway.

"Oyasumi." She grumbled, crossing her arms. I smirked in response because I had won this battle.

"Aa, oyasumi." I turned around and went back to the sink. I heard the soft rustling of fabric and knew she was climbing under the sheets. Good. I calmly went back to dish washing. I hated the task, but it was menial, repetitive and time-consuming. It would do. I needed to do something while I thought myself further into hell.

I stood there scrubbing away briskly but efficiently and thought about seeing Kakashi tomorrow… And that glasses kid named after noodles. Hn. Kakashi would probably tell me I lost my mind. Actually, he might threaten me, to be realistic. I could tell he viewed Sakura as somewhat of a wayward daughter and I knew for a fact that he felt guilty about not giving her as much attention as he gave me or Naruto when we were younger. He'd be damned if he'd let me hurt her again… But that was another reason why it was best to see him about everything going on in my head. If my thoughts turned into actions and those actions led to hurting Sakura when you looked at the big picture, he would foresee it and tell me to keep everything to my fucking self. I trusted him to give me a reality check, if I needed one. I trusted him to stop me from doing something stupid or regrettable, like he always tried to.

My thoughts wandered to Naruto as I placed the clean dishes on the metal drying rack next to the sink. I remembered what Shizune said earlier today. Naruto _loved_ Sakura. I mean, I wasn't stupid; I saw his feelings for her when we were genin. I just didn't know those feelings had persisted for so long. I wondered if Sakura was the only thing Naruto had _ever_ given up on.

Except… that doesn't make an ounce of sense because Naruto _never_ gives up… I felt my eyes narrowing and a disgusting feeling made its way into my chest. Was he… was he _still_ trying for her to come around… just in a roundabout kind of way?

Jealousy. Suspicion. Possessiveness. They were ugly things and they were creeping into me, slowly, making me extremely uncomfortable with myself. It didn't help that I _knew _Naruto had been the better man throughout our _entire_ fucking lives. I shot my bedroom door a quick glance. Sakura had _insisted _she go to Naruto's apartment when she lost her key. I wasn't even an option in her mind… why was that, when we had enjoyed our time together that night? I narrowed my eyes at the door too, as if the answer was written on it. I wasn't seeing something. There was a missing puzzle piece _somewhere _and it was beginning to piss me off.

Did Naruto and Sakura have a… a _thing_ at some point? Had they _fucked_? I almost bent the metal cupcake pan; I was gripping it so tightly. I shook my head violently. Why didn't I want to believe that that was a possibility? Everything in my mind refused the idea, even though logic was telling me that I _had_ to think about it as a plausible situation. I wasn't here often. I didn't know what went on between others that I knew, specifically Naruto and Sakura. Naruto never really talked about Sakura. I assumed she hadn't seen him as much as she hadn't seen me, but that wouldn't explain how she seemed so familiar with going to his apartment when drunk or in a tight spot. In conclusion, at some point while I was away or living on my own after my probation Sakura had spent a few nights with Naruto… That was clear and plain, according to the information I was able to gather.

…

…

…

Sakura had spent a few nights with Naruto…

…

…

…

Well what the _fuck _happened when she went there? I scrubbed at the mixing bowl angrily, soap bubbles floating up and popping in front of my face. Something _must_ have happened. I'm only coming to that conclusion because if absolutely nothing happened then Naruto would have _gladly _slipped that bit of information somewhere into a past conversation with me… but he _never_ did. In fact, he fucking talked a lot about Hinata so I never really even got the chance to _think_ about Sakura. I narrowed my eyes. More suspicion. Did he not mention Sakura so I wouldn't be suspicious of them if something _did_ happen between them?

I had to calm down. Being angry and jumping to conclusions wouldn't help anyone, especially me. Maybe Naruto hadn't told me because he didn't want me to think about the fact that Sakura was the one person who hadn't warmly accepted me back. Maybe he thought avoiding the thought of her was the best course of action. Maybe he knew there was still a _huge_ pile of shit between us and he didn't want to get involved in it. Maybe that's why he arranged it so that we became neighbors… so we'd deal with it on our own.

I inhaled and exhaled. Fuck… That made a lot of sense but I still felt… dirty and grimy, like something ugly and twisted had made its way into my body. Nii-san… I need your help. I closed my eyes. They were the last thing I had left of Itachi aside from his necklace— which I never knew why he wore in the first place, by the way. Regardless, my eyes were once my brother's. My stupid head probably didn't help them see anything clearly, but I practically clung to them in times of distress. I felt better thinking about my brother. Thinking about him helped remind me that I needed to calculate, rather than assume. I needed more data to analyze. That much was clear. … … … So should I confront Naruto, or Sakura?

Fuck, now that I think about it… it's _weird_ that he won't propose to Hinata if he loves her as much as he says he does. He also _never_ ignores my advice. I placed the bowl on the drying rack and worked on all of the utensils left in the sink. I couldn't confront Sakura. That would turn really ugly, really fast. She would deck me and I would end up using the sharingan on her to make her forget I asked and I'd feel guilty. That wasn't the right path. I needed someone knowledgeable… someone within Sakura and Naruto's "circle" that… was nosy enough to ask…

…

Ino. And I smirked into the sink with my newfound agenda. Yes, I would be visiting Ino tomorrow, too, because I needed more information to go on. On one hand, Sakura could possibly have had feelings for Naruto at some point. They could have fucked or kissed or something they shouldn't have and she could have rejected him afterwards, which would explain why I hadn't seen her around him a single time since the reunion dinner. On the other hand,nothing could have happened and they're really just close friends and she was just really drunk the night she lost her key and completely oblivious to how much she would hurt Naruto by unintentionally flaunting herself to him… and hasn't really had time to see him since the reunion dinner… Naruto could _really _just be nervous about talking to Hiashi…That would also explain everything. Either way I had to be sure. I would grill Ino for information tomorrow. Until then I would keep to myself. I dried all of the dishes, put them away and flicked off the kitchen light. I made my way to my room. Sakura was kindly scooted over to one side of my bed.

Why were we sleeping together, again? This would only end up fucking me up worse…

Oh right… neither of us wanted the couch. I crawled in next to her. She didn't stir. She was breathing deeply and I could tell she had already fallen asleep. Her eyes were moving behind her eyelids when I looked over at her. She was already in REM. How long did I spend washing dishes at the sink? I fisted my hands. My fingers were sore and pruned. I was probably there for a while. I turned my back to her and held onto my pillow because I needed to hold onto _something._ I felt irrational and touchy and betrayed, even though I had no right to be upset, considering the kind of asshole that I was in the past. I felt nosy and unlike myself. I took a deep breath to calm down, because tomorrow, no matter what I found out, I would probably know everything that I needed to know… I would have to bring some extra cash with me if Ino didn't particularly feel like gossiping… was it even possible to bribe her with money?

Suddenly, I froze. Sakura had turned around. Her arm crashed over my midsection and slightly winded me. I wasn't expecting that. I shuddered as she forced her way past my arms and slid her hands up my abs and across my chest, sticking her fingers under my armpit. Her fucking fingers were _ice cold_. I shivered. What the fuck was wrong with her circulation? She exhaled and I felt her breath ghost across the skin of my shoulder blades. She rubbed her nose into my spine. She was warm everywhere else… She put an actual meaning to the phrase "doctor hands"… I could feel her toned stomach against my back. I got hard when I felt her soft skin slide against the skin of my lower back. When did her— I mean _my_— shirt ride up on her? She exhaled, deeply and settled back into sleep. Somehow, I felt comforted by her, even though she was the cause of my problems. _That_ was _not_ natural. I rolled my eyes, placed my hand atop hers and tried to relax.

Stop being horny just go to sleep already…

-X-

I awoke with a racing heart to the sound of an ear-piercing scream. _Sakura's _scream. My eyes flew open, I tried to sit up. I realized I couldn't. There was a weight on my body!

Fuck! Sakura—! She's in dange—

Oh. Sakura's _on_ me… Her nails had dug into my skin; she was trembling. Awkwardly, I put my hand on her shoulder. She flinched. Just when the hell did we end up facing each other? That's not how we fell asleep… It was clear to me that she had another one of her nightmares.

"S…Sasuke?" She sounded so small. I could see her looking up at me in the dark. The moon outside gave my room a dimmed, silvery glow through the half-open blinds. Her eyes looked _terrified_. They weren't clear or focused.

"Do you remember where you are?" I asked solidly, confidently. I knew what it was like to wake up from nightmares. I had them nightly when I was younger. Sometimes they were so vivid I wouldn't realize that I wasn't in the nightmare anymore when I woke up. I also had no one to assure me that I wouldn't find the dead bodies of my kin just outside my window. I just had to get up and go look; face the fear of seeing them there, dead and doll-like almost every night. The nightmare was never over until the street was clear outside. I shuddered at the memory. Those were dark days…

"Yes…" She said after a while and her eyes were clear when she spoke. Her cheeks were pink and she was frowning. "Sorry…" She apologized quickly. She detached her nails from my skin and I resisted the dirty thoughts that arose afterwards. She was fucking traumatized by something. I shouldn't be thinking like _that_ after she just woke up _screaming_. I rubbed my thumb against the curve of her shoulder. She looked exhausted. I don't know why we just stared at each other. Several long seconds passed between us. I looked at her as she sleepily peered back at me beneath her thick lashes. I wondered what the fuck was going on. I kept my mouth shut. She didn't say anything either. Why was she so quiet? Her eyelids slowly fell shut as I kept up what I was doing with my thumb. One of her small hands— now warm undoubtedly because of the body heat she stole from me— pressed against my chest, right where my heart was... The other hand curled up into her chest by the zipper of the shirt I loaned her. She fell back asleep rather soundly. I couldn't breathe for a few minutes. I kept my hand frozen on her shoulder I just looked at her for a while, surprised by both her and myself. What the _fuck_ are we doing? Touching each other like this… sleeping with each other like this… it's fucking _dangerous_. Doesn't she know that? What if I decided to kiss her when she woke up instead? What the fuck— how the fuck would we deal with something like _that_ afterwards? I squeezed my eyes shut and refused to think about the mess we had made.

Sleep. Just fucking sleep. Kami-sama please just let me get back to sleep.

-X-

I dreamt about my brother. We were sitting in a field. He was talking but I couldn't _fucking_ tell what he was saying. I was so confused and upset in the dream. It's like he was speaking a language I didn't understand. I heard his voice but traumatically I couldn't understand his words. I woke up feeling similarly confused and upset, only this time I was hit with a pang of loneliness like a slap across the face. Sakura was gone. The birds were chirping outside and their songs were what woke me. I looked at the clock on my nightstand. It was six. Sakura was beyond stealthy if she managed to slip out of bed without waking me. I wondered how she managed to do that as I mechanically stepped out of bed and began to dress myself. I zipped up a grey tunic and pulled on a standard pair of black nin pants over my boxers. I grabbed all of my pouches, arm warmers and kusanagi and put them where they belonged. I grabbed my hitai-ate and trudged out of my room after making my bed.

I glanced over at the kitchen table. There was a small note. I abandoned my trip to the bathroom and redirected myself to the note. I picked it up and unfolded it. Sakura had apparently rifled through my desk while I was asleep as well. She had found my notepad. Did she _drug _me in my sleep? How was she so silent and imperceptible? I had _freakish_ instincts while I was asleep… _Everything_ woke me up. How did this woman manage not to trip all of the proverbial alarms I trained my body to have over the years?

_Sasuke, breakfast is in the fridge. I don't know if you like eggs, but I made them anyway. I'll probably end up working late tonight. See you later._

_By the way… sorry again for waking you last night. Thanks for being there for me._

—_Sakura—_

I read the note in her voice in my mind and couldn't help but assume she was somber when she wrote it. Was she afraid of what I thought of her? Is that why she just slipped out without a word this morning? Did she need space or did she think _I _needed space? Is she really dumb enough to think I'd judge her for having nightmares? … I fucking sure as hell judged her for not understanding me when we were kids, though…

Ugh. I grabbed the note and threw it into the trash. She made me question _everything_. She always did. I went back to the bathroom, used the toilet, brushed my teeth, glared at my duck's-ass hair and put my hitai-ate on. I went to the refrigerator afterwards, grabbed the cold scrambled eggs mixed with bits of beef, threw away the plastic sheet covering the food and the plate and stuck the meal into the microwave at the far end of my counter. I waited two minutes for the food to heat up and rushed through the eating process. I ate at the counter, wondering how she had made breakfast and washed up afterwards without me waking up. She fucking drugged me. She must have to have accomplished that much…

I shoveled the food into my mouth in my awkward standing position. I didn't have time to eat at the table… Actually, I didn't have time to fucking eat, _period_. I had a gossiping kunoichi to hunt down. But I ate anyway, because Sakura would be upset if I didn't and I didn't feel like fighting with her later. I washed dishes, grumbled while I made my morning tea and sipped on the mixture afterwards. The wall clock in the living room ticked away the time. It made my apartment feel hollow. I glared at the floor when I admitted to myself that it was empty without Sakura there with her dancing, her music, her pink hair and her laughter. I cleaned my tea cup and left my apartment, unintentionally slamming the door shut in my haste.

-X-

After much stalking and surveying I found Ino at her family's flower shop. She was manning the register for her mom. She was probably visiting her mother today. I strolled in and several pairs of eyes flew to me instantly. I must have looked like I was delivering hell and a violent death, because a mother and her child quickly walked out and the customer at the desk skipped the small talk Ino tried to make after paying for a bouquet for someone undoubtedly special in his life. I crossed my arms once the store was empty and Ino glared kunai at me.

"What?" She hissed. "This better be worth scaring away my customers." She crossed her arms too and leaned against the wall behind the counter, waiting for me to speak. I sighed. Where the fuck do I start? I was the best at being blunt and Ino was the best at gleaning information from short sentences. So I spoke.

"What happened between Naruto and Sakura?" I asked. She cocked a blonde brow.

"Something happened between them?" She sounded concerned.

She didn't know what I was talking about. Okay so obviously things happened between Naruto and Sakura often. That's not surprising, considering who they both were. I needed to rephrase myself.

"I mean romantically." I paused. "In the past." I added. _That _did the trick.

Ino paled. 'Got her.

"I…don't think I can tell you that." She replied honestly after a few seconds of inner debate. Good. She knew she wasn't going to be able to bullshit me.

"I think you should." I still had to argue. I needed to know. Ino sighed, defeated.

"You aren't going to give up, are you?" She asked, slightly miffed.

I shook my head quietly. She rolled her powder-blue eyes and opened a door next to her, calling up the stairs behind said door.

"Mooooom! I'm going out!" She yelled and I have to say my ears rang. She could get high-pitched if she really wanted to. Thank Kami-sama I wasn't in Sai's shoes.

"Okay!" Was the quick, feminine response from the floor above. Ino leapt over the counter and walked out of the shop, jingling the bells of the door. I followed after her. She broke into a run once in the street and I followed suit. Once she hit the rooftops I realized we were running to the top of the hokage monument. We stopped atop yondaime's spiky head of hair. It was fitting that this conversation about Naruto would happen atop his father's monument. Ino peered around and I double checked to make sure we were completely alone. She sat down and hung her legs over the edge of the cliff. I gracefully fell onto my backside in a meditative position next to her. I hoped she would be able to tell me everything, but it seemed like she was having trouble deciding on that. Her eyes were flitting across the village and she seemed like she was debating with herself whether or not she should actually tell me anything.

"I really don't think I should tell you their business." She reiterated once more. It was a logical argument. She knew I listened to logic more than I listened to feelings.

"You know I have ways of getting the information out of you anyway." I supplied in a non-violent tone. I _did_ have the upper hand. I _did _have to remind her of what I _could_ do even if I wouldn't do it.

"You'd really use Tsukuyomi?" She queried, surprised. I felt her eyes on me.

"If I threatened you with it would you speak willingly on the pretense that you had no choice the moment I decided to ask you in the first place?" I responded and looked over at her. I wouldn't hurt her. She knew that. I knew that. But if I really wanted to, I could just genjutsu my way past all of her mental barriers and make her reveal the information once I was in her head anyway. She sighed.

"I don't want this to come back to me." She threatened and crossed her arms again when she realized she had no choice. I nodded. That was understandable.

"I won't speak about or act on anything I hear from this point on." My tone was promising.

"First tell me how you figured it out." She smirked. "It's the price for information." My eyes widened and I glared at the hokage tower in the distance. She was fucking slick. I felt my cheeks heat up.

"Sakura lost her key at Hofuku." I began, because where else to begin but at the beginning? I assumed Sakura had already complained to her that she was living next to me... "She ended up staying with me, but that's because I practically forced her to. Why did she want to go to Naruto's so badly?" I cut things short because I was tired of not knowing.

Ino hissed in mock pain. "Ouch. Okay, I see where your thoughts would have eventually taken you… but I can't fathom why you'd care, Mr. Avenger…" She chirped knowingly.

Now I snapped my head towards her and glared at her snide expression. Why was she being such a bitch about things? I suppose I deserved her attitude and her nosiness. I was being a nosy prick myself. I sighed, keeping as calm as possible.

"I was going to save this one for Kakashi…" I began, because I really was, but I should have counted on Ino catching on. She wasn't an idiot. She was sometimes, but she really wasn't. "You can't repeat or act on anything I say either. I need that as a promise." I backtracked before I said anything more. I needed this to stay secret. I needed her to take this to the grave. She understood, because she grinned and lifted her pinky finger. I glared at it and intertwined my pinky with hers. It was childish but it would do for now.

"Go on… admit it already…" She urged, again, snidely. I glared at her. Ino was made of pure evil. All Yamanakas were. I was convinced now. I rolled my eyes.

"I like Sakura in ways that I shouldn't but Naruto's my _brother_. That's why I care." I crossed my arms. Was she happy now? Yes. She was fucking ecstatic. She squealed like a little girl at a clothing store and clapped her hands together many quick, successive times. I wanted to rip my hair out of my head. Did she have to make me feel so… _weird_ about it all?

"Okay that's good enough for now." She smiled. "And if you're wondering, no, Naruto and Sakura never had a relationship… not an official one, at least." She shrugged and my eyes widened. Wait, what the _fuck_ did she mean 'not an official one'? My mind naturally reverted to the worst case scenario: they had agreed to having sex with each other for some unspecified period of time. Ino must have seen the horror in my eyes because she quickly began to explain, putting her hands up in an effort to calm my racing thoughts.

"Okay. Sakura came crying to me one morning. I was in my office. And this is why I didn't want to tell you, by the way, because what I know was said to me in _private._ _At my job_. I'm only breaking the rules because I think it would benefit Sakura in the end." She glared at me as she spoke, but continued in a lighter albeit rushed tone.

"Anyway, she said that she had screwed up. Of course, I asked her how. Apparently, she had made it a habit to get drunk and stay at Naruto's _before_ he made it official with Hinata. At first it was fine because they were friends. Friends look out for friends. This was soon after your probation ended, by the way. _Anyway_, She had kissed him the night before she came crying to me. She was drunk it was an accident on her part. He knew she was drunk and not all there. Luckily for you, Naruto's an upstanding guy and stopped her before things went too far. She told me she told him that she had feelings for him but couldn't love him completely because she didn't feel like she'd ever deserve him after the way she treated him when they were younger; I'm assuming you were around for that so I guess you know what she meant. She cried and told him how much better Hinata was for him once she was sober, but you know him. He didn't want to hear any of that shit. He fucking _loved_ her. And Sakura had revealed that to some extent she liked him."

My heart was pounding. What the _fuck_? That was a _big_ fucking issue. What the fuck happened after that!?

"— So they got into a fight. She didn't want to be with him because he was too good for her and she would hate herself every day she was with him. At least, that's what she said she told him. She told me she made him _cry_. That was when she decided to take back to back missions and ignore everyone who ever cared about her. I think Naruto was able to put it behind them, kind of, and started dating Hinata then." Ino studied me for a reaction. My heart was beating too quickly for me to really have one.

How to react?

So… Sakura _did_ like Naruto. But… for his own good she blacklisted him? Was that her only reason? No. Not possible. Sakura was as selfish as I was sometimes. Tch she refused to be with him for his own good? Bullshit. If she _really _liked him, _loved_ him completely, they would openly be together now…

"That's not everything." I deadpanned, praying I was right. Apparently, Ino was testing my patience. She smiled and nodded.

"Good deduction. You passed the patience and stress test." I glared at her, but she ignored me and continued. "_Yes_, she didn't tell Naruto the _entire_ truth, which was stupid on her part, if you ask me. She's attracted to him but you know Sakura; she's not stupid. She knows they're not compatible. Naruto is Sakura's anti-Sakura; everything he does gets on her nerves. She can't deal with the negatives out of love like Hinata-chan can. She knew they'd implode eventually if they ever dated and would probably cause a war between all of their collective friends, which includes both you and I. She didn't want any of that drama. She said she didn't tell him any of that because Naruto would just tell her that she's wrong and that they should try and she didn't want to hurt him any more than she already had. She closed the topic and asked him not to ever bring it up again. He promised her he wouldn't. She's obviously over it, even though she's guilty as hell, but he isn't... not completely. That's why they don't hang out much. He's still friends with her, though. Nice guy." Ino took a deep breath and exhaled and played with the hem of her nin skirt. I analyzed the information she gave me.

Okay. Naruto's an idiot. And so is Sakura. He didn't want to propose to Hinata because some dumb stubborn part of him thinks it's still possible between him and Sakura. I felt… _bad_ for him… for _both_ of them. Why the fuck wasn't I there to keep things straight between them? I was their fucking teammate. We'd all been through hell relatively together. At least _one_ of them should have been able to rely on me… Fuck. I sighed.

"Why hasn't anyone cleared things up with Naruto?" I asked, ignoring the annoyed feeling of not being confided in. That was the first thing on the list. My stupid idiot brother's feelings mattered the most. He would ruin his future if this shit wasn't cleared up _soon_, because the Hyuuga girl really _did_ love him.

"If you ask me, I think Naruto cleared things up for himself. He's a baka but he can read feelings pretty well. I doubt forehead-girl would have been able to hide everything from him as she was screaming into his face." Ino shrugged nonchalantly but I could see the tenseness in her shoulders and spine. This was certainly an uncomfortable conversation.

"Do you think that's why he moved Sakura in next to me?" I asked, because it was plausible. Maybe he wanted me to clean the rest of mess without me knowing that I was doing so. I mean, I wouldn't have wanted to if I had known all this… no wonder there was so much secrecy… I would have told him to fuck off if he came to me and asked me to be try to go out with Sakura to give him closure. Sakura would have told him to fuck off too. Then she would have told me to go fuck off even harder. I narrowed my eyes at the village. Tsunade was rubbing off on him. It was risky, but sneaky to move us in next to each other and just hope for the best.

I felt played but less angry now. I understood where he was coming from. He would be happy if Sakura ended up with someone he thought she deserved. He would be happy to give his feelings for her up if _I _was the one she ended up with. It astounded me just how much respect he had for me. I was surprised that my happiness and closure was more important to him than his own feelings and that he even realized all of that fast enough to set me up with Sakura and hope that it worked.

"For the record, he moved _you _next to Sakura. She was there first. And I think so. Maybe he'd find peace if Sakura ended up with you. I guess he took a gamble and it worked, huh?" Ino shrugged. She was grinning. I reached over and shoved her shoulder to wipe that smug look off of her face. She knew this _whole_ fucking time and didn't tell me either. I glowered as I watched her fall over to the side.

"Hey!" She hissed and caught herself on the ground by her forearm. "Ugh, _Asshole_! You know, I _am_ the head of the Yamanaka clan! I can start a clan war with you!" She snapped, pointing at me as she sat back up.

"And if you do, you'll _lose_." I spoke in a condescending tone because she deserved it after hiding something so important from me. She rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. Just promise me you won't rip Sakura's hair out next time you see her." And her eyes were pleading. I snickered at my lap. Me? Rip Sakura's hair out? I couldn't if I wanted to at this point. I already liked her. And I happened to like her pink hair. But Naruto? That was a different story. I was going to go home at the end of the day and forge that letter I was talking about earlier…

"Naruto's the one in trouble, and he can handle what I have coming his way, trust me." I stood up. Next on my list of victims was Kakashi… because despite all of this I still needed to know if _trying_ was a good idea. Because hell or high water I wasn't going to hurt Sakura by getting any closer to her and Kakashi would know the right course of action.

Ino stood up too.

"You're leaving already?" She asked, confused.

"Yes, unless there's more fucked up shit I don't know." I deadpanned back and crossed my arms. I ignored the my bangs getting in my face no thanks to the wind. I would need a haircut soon.

"Well no, there isn't. But I _did_ take a half hour lunch break and only spent ten minutes of it! The least you can do is make up for putting me in a traumatic situation and buy me lunch." She huffed, hands on her hips. I smirked, taking out my wallet, smugly relishing in the fact that I had prepared for this exact moment. I handed her a hundred-gold bill. She stared at it with an open mouth and an offended expression.

"Buy yourself lunch. The rest is for your silence. I have things to do." She was still frozen in shock, so I crinkled the bill, tossed it at her chest and shunshinned away before she could complain and call me names.

-X-

I couldn't _fucking_ find Kakashi anywhere and after a short trip to the administrative desk on the first floor of the hokage tower, I found out he was in Kirigakure on a mission. Rolling my eyes, I decided to find that noodles/glasses kid. To find him, I went where _I_ would go if I were seventeen and in Konoha: the Konoha training fields. I found him in field ten; a relatively private area compared to the others. He was fighting an opponent I couldn't see. His taijutsu was impressive. It was an improvised version of the Uchiha style. Sakura was right. The kid idolized me. I stepped forward and he whirled around, sensing my chakra. He bowed once he recognized me. I met him in the clearing.

"Sasuke-sama!" He seemed surprised. I would be too in his shoes. I hadn't talked to him since my chunin exams. _My_ chunin exams. The exams during which Orochimaru _fucked_ my team. If I remember correctly he was busy gathering information on the contestants for the Konoha newspaper.

"Yo." I greeted. I found a log and sat on it. The kid watched me, not knowing what to do. To his credit, he was decently good at hiding his uncertainty. His glasses were smaller on his face compared to the last time I saw him. I noticed that his hair was similar to mine, except his didn't anti-gravity in the back like mine did. It was a sandy brown color. He was lucky he didn't have chicken-hair, in my opinion. He was dressed in a black high-collared, zip-up tunic, similar to mine, and white nin pants that seemed scuffed up. His hitai-ate was on his forehead much like mine was.

"Should I sit?" He asked, and put his kunai back into the grey pouch on his left thigh.

"Do what you want." I wasn't good at helping people. But I had to try, only because this kid obviously didn't hate me after everything I did. E sighed and sat down next to me.

"I heard Konohamaru knocked you and Sakura-nee-chan down yesterday. I'm sure he already apologized, but I'm sorry anyway." I was surprised to hear him speak first. His voice was deeper than I remembered. I suddenly felt old. It wasn't long ago that I was his age. Where had the time flown to?

"Don't apologize. You didn't knock me down, your dumb friend did." I replied. "But speaking of which, what the hell are you going to do about that Moegi girl, don't you like her?"

"W-what?" Suddenly he was standing. Wow. A question put him on edge enough to go into fight-or-flight mode. Interesting.

"Sit." Robotically, he sat back down. "I was with Sakura yesterday and she said something alarming about your friends."

I felt weird for meddling, but I had to help him out. After all, imagine being him, saying that he looked up to me, and then finding out that I deserted the village. How embarrassing. I fucking embarrassed the kid. I'm sure I did at some point without even realizing it, so I owed him this.

"What's that?" I looked over at him and noted the pink tinge to his cheeks. His eyes were even similar to mine. They were coal black and large. They widened behind his glasses.

"She thinks Konohamaru and Moegi act like a married couple. You tell me what's wrong with that statement." I deadpanned back. He was alarmed, but he kept his cool. He narrowed his eyes.

"How did you know I have feelings for Moegi-chan?" He asked calmly. I shrugged.

"I have an eye for detail." I remembered the way he looked at her when they were just academy kids. I could tell he liked her. He paid attention to every question she asked me during my interview, rather than paying attention to my short and admittedly assholistic responses.

"Okay… but there's nothing I can do about the way she feels." He shrugged. "I like her, but I don't think she likes me. She's always running after Konohamaru." He shrugged again, and for some reason, I fucking _really _felt for the kid. I liked Sakura knowing she didn't want anything to do with me beyond fucking me. We were more or less in the same boat. I sighed.

"Come on." I stood up. I was going to be here for this kid, because he really seemed like he needed someone there. I knew what it was like to not really have anyone there. He needed a better teacher anyway.

"Where are we going?" He asked and stood up in time with me.

"Nowhere. You're going to meet me here at this training ground at fife-thirty _every morning_ unless I tell you otherwise. Your taijutsu is impressive but it's shit compared to the Uchiha style you're improvising on. We'll work on that and anything else you need to cover." I commanded. I liked this kid. He wasn't annoying and he was pretty creative as far as taijutsu went. It would be worth helping him out. Maybe he'd learn to impress that Moegi girl too. At the very least, I now had an ulterior motive to be up at the same time that Sakura had to be up… It worked out.

He gazed at me, confused, as if he was trying to discern whether or not I was lying.

"What?" I narrowed my eyes at him. He shook his head. Skeptically, he stepped forward into his fighting stance. I shook my head and moved next to him and stepped into the first and most basic kata of the Uchiha style.

"First you have to learn all of the katas the _right_ way." I explained, like my father once explained to me.

-X-

AWWWWWW! And yet again we see the sweet side of Sasuke! SO what did you guys think of the stuff Sasuke found out from Ino!? Are you shocked? I hinted so hard (as far as subtle writing goes) at Sakura and Naruto's –ahem- _thing_ in the earlier chapters! GAAAAAAAH! Review before I burst! I _have _to know what you guys think!

Disclaimer: I don't own jack squat. I don't make money writing this.

See 'ya later, Space Cowboy!


	15. Soon

KISEKI

|15|

YES! SO many reviews! Thank you! Min-na! ARIGATOOOOOOO T_T *Rock Lee's super-pumped teary-eyed face with fist here* It means so much that you guys are even reviewing as guests on FF T_T This chapter is also in dedication to you guys! I think it's my best Sakura chapter to date, only because I was really able to get into her shoes this time for some reason.

Also, please allow me to apologize for the late post. Work and family have both been crazy and not to mention I've gotten sick and for the first time in my life had an allergic reaction to a medication. I've _never_ had hives before; I mean like _never_ in my _entire_ almost-twenty-three years of life lol. I'm not allergic to anything except penicillin so I really thought I was going to die. Lol The pharmacist laughed at me. I was like "I'm having a panic attack, even if you can't tell right now. You need to confirm whether or not I'm going to die and if I live you need to tell me if these horrible red patches are going to go away." See, I had already taken Benadryl so it chilled me out a lot so I said all of this in a deadpan with a straight face. The guy looked like it was the funniest thing he'd seen since Gabriel Iglasias hahahahhahah anyway, enjoy!

-X-

I had just finished with my third operation of the day. The first one was scheduled right at six in the morning. That one took two hours. About a half hour into checking on some low-risk patients after that, a trio of anbu crashed through the window of an OR. They were idiots. I couldn't operate around broken glass so they had to be moved to another OR and because of them we were now down one OR. Anyway, during that dilemma, I did another major surgery: putting Hyuuga Rohsuke-san's intestines, liver and kidneys back in order.

You should know by now why that one was as emotionally distressing as well as mentally. Not only was this man dying, but his beautiful face reminded me of Neji's. That fiasco took me about three hours and most of my remaining chakra… just because I fell into a particularly meticulous mood and couldn't stop healing him until he was in near perfect condition and conscious. The third OP was another scheduled one. It was minor. I was to re-design a baby's misshapen bones. It was mildly stressful because I had to use the remainder of my energy and operate at peak performance with it. It was a baby. There was _no_ room for error and I had to seep and move my chakra within the little boy's body at infinitesimal levels. Thankfully, everything went without a hitch.

My stomach grumbled as I finished washing my hands. I assured the worried, chocolate-haired mother that her baby would grow up and develop just fine from now on and made my exit, wiping the remainder of the moisture onto my labcoat. Now, I was making my way to the break room to find some takeout menu so I could finally buy some—

I almost tripped over myself as I remembered that I had _no _money to pay for take-out with! Shit! I smacked my forehead, wondering why I didn't think about taking lunch with me. Oh, _right_…. I was cleaning up this morning, focusing _so_ entirely on being stealthy to not wake Sasuke that I _completely _and _utterly _forgot to plan ahead for disasters like this one. Shit.

_But_… not eating was better than facing Sasuke after my issue last night. I had _no_ right to wake up screaming in the middle of the night… not after everything _he'd _been through. If _he_ could deal with his life after everything that happened to him, I had no right to complain about people I couldn't save and about people I had to kill that still haunted me in my sleep... Speaking of my freakish dreams, I don't even want to _begin _to think about that weird dream I had about Sasuke comforting me right afterwards; I've had enough stress for today…

Coffee… I'll just have caffeine support me until tonight. It should work. Maybe, just _maybe_ I could borrow some money from— Ugh! No! _No_, I can't borrow money, 'cause then I'll owe more people money. Being in debt to one Uchiha Sasuke was enough for me. As I began to near the end of the hallway, I stopped in my tracks as a familiar voice reached my ears. It was deep and smooth like a traditional drum. Suchiru…? His tone was low and… it sounded… _husky... _What… the _fuck_? I crept to the end of the cool sterile hallway, where to my right there were more rooms for recovering patients.

"Mmn… Y-Yamanaka-san!" A female voice pleaded… but not really _pleaded_… if you know what I mean… It just sounded like she _needed_ something and _now…_ that "something" being sex.

My mouth dropped open only because I _recognized_ that voice too… That was Yuki-chan's voice! She was a nurse here…she was on _my _roster! I heard low grunting and… _wet_ sounds. Oh. My. Fucking. Kami-sama. I was _actually _listening to real-life porn…. Happening in the hospital… My fucking brain… it… it stopped. I don't think it will ever work right again…

"Shhhh… don't be so loud… Ughn…" Definitely…_definitely _Suchiru's voice! The shuffling sounds on the floor told me more than I needed to know. They were _really _fucking… _fucking_! –On the floor like some _animals_ in the recovery ward! What the fuck! I had to be sure it was him, though… I don't know why I bothered to double check but I just had to make sure… Suchiru-san just didn't seem like the womanizing type! I plastered my body to the wall, turned and peaked. The hallway was clear. The doors were all shut but I could still hear the muffled sounds of sex and ecstasy in the empty recovery ward. Which door was it coming from…? Despite my empty stomach, I went into anbu mode and dropped low to the ground. I kept my head beneath the little square windows on each door. I slowly crept down the hall like a cat. Room 202? No. 203? No. …204? I listened closely. was it!

"You're pussy's so _fucking tight _Yu… hurry and cum so I can finish already…"

Ew. I didn't want to hear that... not from him to her… It was just _so_ not sexy to hear from my position…

I dropped to all fours and peaked under the gap between the door and the floor. Sure enough, long black hair dusted the floor. Yuki's hair. _Who_ is she fucking…in the doggy position? Ugh so gross… Why am I here again, watching their knee caps get abused while they screw?

"Ugn—uh! Ahhh! S-Suchi! I-I-I'm… aaaaaaaaaahhhhhnnnnN!" She screamed and I was surprised that the entirety of anbu hadn't heard that from HQ.

My eyes widened as I realized the name she had blurted out in her ignorance. She was _definitely _fucking Suchiru.

"Oh fuck…" He let out a low, hushed grunt. Sure enough, seconds later they both collapsed—him on top of her. I saw a lock of pale blonde hair and I was out of there, back down the hall, around the corner and quickly making my way to the lunch room taking the high-traffic route instead of the more private one. My mind was still spinning, still absorbing what I had heard and seen. I felt numb as I processed. I've been fooled…

"…_he just wants to fuck you…" _

Sasuke.

Sasuke's deep, fucking _infuriatingly condescending _tone filled my mind. But I couldn't bring myself to be angry at him. He was right. He was fucking right this whole time. I stopped in a busy hallway and placed my hand against the wall, bracing myself, ignoring the odd looks the custodians and bustling interns were giving me.

Suchiru was a _fucking _play-boy hentai! I felt so stupid. Who did that fucking blonde think he was, insulting _my_ intelligence like that!? I felt so stupid. Holy _shit_ Sasuke was right! Oh Kami-sama Suchiru is an _ass! _Ugh! I'm _soooo _dumb! My mind was in ten different places at once, scattered and erratic. I felt shocked, angry, foolish, and offended at the same time. I didn't know what I wanted or rather _needed _to do first.

Should I storm in there and fire Yuki on the spot?

No. It's not her fault she's stupid. Stay calm. I'll find a suitable punishment for her later because she _still _did something fucked up in a professional environment.

As for Yamanaka Suchiru… that fucking liar… Oh… oh _no_. _No one _lied to me and got away with it… There _has_ to be some way…that… I can…

I smirked.

Then I grinned. _Evilly. _There has to be some way that I can _get back at him_… If it were _Sasuke_, he'd find some way to get back at that son of a _bitch_ and make payback _three times _as worse as what Suchiru did to him. I focused on the evilest thing I could imagine; channeling as much of Sasuke's vengeful tendencies as I could. It only took me a second of focusing on my teammate to figure out what I needed to do to teach Suchiru a lesson… I spun around, pure _evil_ shining in my eyes and again ignored the strange looks I recieved.

Heh… heh-heh… I now had a plan… a _brilliant_ plan… but first… I would need to eat and get through today. Maybe I can borrow money from Shizune. I needed food to think and plan _everything_ out _accordingly._

I trudged through the hospital, wasting about ten minutes of my break time trying to find Shizune. I was holding onto my stomach because it _hurt_ and the sickening sex scene I stumbled upon didn't make it feel any better. The last time it hurt _this_ bad from hunger was… when Kakashi-sensei initially gave us his bell test. I squeezed my eyes shut as another pang of emptiness hit my poor, unintentionally abused, empty stomach, not really watching where I was going. I shouldn't have been surprised when someone crashed into me with surprising _force_, hurting my face, nose, shoulders and even my butt after I fell to the floor. Ouch.

"Uuuuugh… for the last time, Konohamaru!" I hissed and looked up, but the hand outstretched wasn't Konohamaru's. Surprisingly, it was _Sasuke's_. I looked up at him and tilted my head to the side. What… the hell was he doing here? He glared down at me when I failed to do anything but stare in surprise.

Oh right. He's trying to help me up. My brain finally caught up to the moment. I took his hand and dusted off my ass as we both made an effort to get me off the floor as people shot us odd looks as they walked past. A little girl in blonde pigtails giggled at me as she held flowers in one hand and her mother's skirt in her other one.

"You're out of chakra." He mentioned before he even said hello. My attention shifted from the retreated little girl to him. Ugh. That was such a typical "Sasuke" greeting. Why is he here again? Oh right we crashed. I guess he walked into me because he didn't sense me? But still, how did _he_ manage to literally _run_ into _me_? Was he _not_ looking where he was going? I looked at him. He looked slightly scuffed, tired. His chakra was low too. I took the opportunity to strike, because I _already _felt like ten different kinds of shit and I didn't need Uchiha Sasuke to make me feel worse.

"Well so are you, thankyouverymuch!" I accused back, wiggling my hand loose from his and snapping my finger at his face. Like _he's_ one to talk. He narrowed his beautiful thickly-lashed black eyes at me. I fucking hate his eyes. They're so sexy they're _too _sexy. Leave it to Sasuke to be _that_ person that infuriates you because he's so good-looking but makes you appreciate him at the same time because he's fucking good-looking. Ugh. Honestly…. I'm just not in the mood for him right now. _Why_ in kami-sama's good name is he here?

"I was training with Nara." He defended himself, peeved at my confrontational declaration. He shoved his hands in his pockets. I was starting to catch on that that was one of his favorite things to do. I looked up and down at him. Yes, I was in a bad mood and even though I wasn't in the mood for Sasuke, I still didn't want to fight with him, either… not after how shitty my day has been going. I sighed and rubbed my temple, giving up on being prickly towards him. I was starting to get a headache from dehydration. No. There would be no more bullshit today. Not even from Uchiha Sasuke.

"And I just got done with my third surgery today." I explained trying not to make it sound ike a complaint. My confession seemed to take the edge off of him and he just looked at me before he opened his mouth to speak.

"Come eat with me."

I'm sorry, _what_?

He was looking directly at me, so I was _sure_ he was speaking to me. I still couldn't help but be suspicious as well as thoroughly shocked. My eyes slightly peered around me to check for other people; just in case he really _wasn't _talking to me. I'm not crazy, right? This isn't a genjutsu either, is it? I didn't misunderstand anything, either right? Because Uchiha _fucking _Sasuke just asked me to leave work to go have lunch with him. I still half-believed someone was playing a sick joke on me. Why would he run all the way _here_ from the _training grounds_ to make _me_ eat with _him_?

I narrowed my eyes and crossed my arms in suspicion. Okay, what was he _up _to, seriously? I think he guessed my thoughts from reading my body language, sorta, because his eyes swept up and down my body but his face remained neutral, like he was silently repeating himself and nothing more. I studied his face to see if I could glean any more information, or perhaps find a motive for his odd askance, but I couldn't read him with that closed expression if I tried. He was just _that_ good at hiding his thoughts, unfortunately.

"What?" I settled on asking the obvious, because I really didn't believe that the Sasuke I know would just leap across buildings and districts in Konoha to come ask me to eat with him. Yeah, no. Sorry. What dream world are you living in? There _has_ to be an ulterior motive or a joke somewhere there.

And just then, my _traitorous_ stomach decided to override my impending interrogation and growled _audibly._ It was _so loud _I'm pretty sure that if Gaara had his window open in Suna he could probably hear it. I wanted to die out of embarrassment. My face felt hot. I was _just_ about to say something really cool too! Sasuke smirked at me, like he had fucking won whatever weird fucking somewhat-battle we were having but not really having. Did he sense that I was about to grill him about his intentions? Stupid stomach!

"Fuck you!" I hissed quietly because I hated it when he was smug about things like that. I don't even know what he just won but he just won something and I lost. Horribly. All because of my loud stomach. I wanted to die of embarrassment and broken pride, but, honestly, I really had no right to be a bitch to him anyway. Sasuke was letting me stay with him _and_ with a frown I remembered that he was right about Suchiru. Ugh… _Sasuke_ was _right_… why, why, _why_ was I actually _upset_ that he was right? Maybe I secretly wanted Suchiru to be a great guy that I could actually date and think seriously about… _maybe_. No actually, _yeah_ that was exactly it. The asshole had fooled me into thinking that I could _date _him and maybe start on a lasting relationship with him… I'm so stupid.

"If you want." He shrugged coolly, his face almost _painfully _nonchalant.

I stared at him. I said "fuck you", right? And he said, "If you want"… As if that was _normal_! I shook my head. Something was… fucked up somewhere today. Somebody had skewed something in the delicate balance of nature because Sasuke was acting _weird. _Maybe Naruto was just rubbing off on him… hopefully.

"Nevermind. Let's just go." I muttered back, trying not to dwell on the fact that Sasuke was more than attractive enough to have sex with since I was on that topic anyway,and just walked past him with hopefully a straight poker face. Silently, he caught up to me and we walked down the hall, out into the main lobby and past the front desk and its ringing telephones. I temporarily ignored my surroundings and Sasuke's presence as I let my thoughts wander to the disgusting, gut-wrenching Suchiru/Yuki scene I witnessed earlier. Unconsciously, my hand went to my stomach, because it made me sick that I believed him… I really, truly _believed _that maybe he liked me for _me. _Already sour, I nearly lost my temper when someone's hands covered my eyes, playfully. I was in no mood for _fucking _games today! Did people just not get that!?

"Guess." was _him_. _His_ stupid fucking sexy voice was unmistakable. Douchebag. Liar. Playboy. Hentai. **ERO! SHANNARO!** I almost lost a grip on my killing intent, but I remembered Shizune's feminine kunoichi lessons instead. Yes… in order to destroy him I would first have to be kind to him. I'd have to make him think he's still in control…

"Ne… I wonder who…" I replied sweetly as trailed my hands up his ribcage, resisting the urge to vomit. I did _not_ want to touch him after what I had seen just _fifteen minutes_ ago.

"S-Suchiru-kun?" I used what little chakra I had left to channel my blood up to my cheeks so I could conjure up a perfectly-timed blush, using Hinata's preferred method of being cute and adding a surprised stutter to my tone. … I'm gonna rip him a new asshole… _soon_. Just you wait, Suchiru… I'm going to take everything you hold dear and break it in front of your stupid, handsome face.

"Ah, good guess! What gave me away?" His hands slipped off my eyes. To his credit he had completely cleaned up after his little "fun" in the recovery ward—since I didn't _smell_ the scent of sex on him at all even at close range— and he even entered from a different section of the hospital. Slick _bastard_. If I hadn't gotten hungry and headed to the break room using the less common route at that _exact_ time I wouldn't have even _known_. I spun around and clasped my hands behind my back, grinning up at him happily.

"Your voice." I winked up at him. Fucker. Asshole. Dickface. Sasuke looked unhappy in my peripheral vision; actually to be honest he looked _pissed_. Whatever. I didn't have a second to give him a meaningful stare to calm him down. I had a whore to lie to. "Anyway, what brings you here?" I asked, leisurely. It helped that I could sense Sasuke's chakra returning to his body. For whatever reason, pretending that I was talking to him instead of Suchiru made me more comfortable and his chakra signature being _there_ right by my side was an extra reassurance that gave me a massive confidence boost. I could _do_ this. I'm not twelve anymore…

"I came here to see you. Would you like to get some lunch?" He asked, adding an artful twinge of hope in his voice that most girls wouldn't be able to turn down. Hah. I'm _not_ most girls, Suchiru… I'll prove that to you… the _hard_ way. Soon….

My eyes briefly slid to Sasuke. He was looking at me with the most neutral expression I have _ever_ seen on his face, the annoyance in his eyes _completely _gone. If you'd cut his hair shorter he would look just like Sai did when we first met him: expressionless. I resisted the urge to smirk at Suchiru, because I was going to turn him down, but I think Sasuke noticed the small quirk of my lips anyway, because his eyes narrowed just a slight bit, and I saw recognition on his features, like he _realized _what I was doing. I think we were… _communicating_ somehow without really using words… Well, that was a first. Is this what it's like to have a _solid_ teammate? Anyway, I couldn't think about that right now. I turned my "sad" eyes back to Suchiru instead.

"Well, you see, Suchiru-san… I'm already going to have lunch with Sasuke…" I made a frown and a distraught face, like I was genuinely upset that I couldn't have lunch with him. Again, pretending that I had to turn down Sasuke, instead, made my act so much more realistic. Hah! I'm a better con-artist than you are, Suchiru! You'll get your share of shit, shannaro! _Soon_….

Suchiru's green eyes flicked to Sasuke, who was _conveniently_ smirking, but it wasn't out of fun or anything remotely innocent. Sasuke looked fucking _smug. _I don't exactly know _why _he was so _obviously_ smug but I decided not to look too deeply into it, because if he made Suchiru feel like shit even the slightest bit, it worked in my favor. Hell, maybe Sasuke was actually _helping _me. Maybe he understood that we were on the same side now? Suchiru narrowed his eyes at my teammate, just slightly. If I had blinked I would have missed it. Tch… Selfish, douchey, self-absorbed _prick_! I'm going to tear him apart… just you wait, _Suchiru... _You want to get nasty? I can get _nasty_. His eyes were on me just then and I snapped back to attention, schooling my features to look apologetic, cowed, slightly stressed— all the things a woman would be feeling if she turned down the guy she liked because she already had plans.

"Oh, no worries, Sakura-chan. Maybe I'll see you some other time, then?" He gave me a charming smile. I had to hand it to him; he _really _made it look like he _wasn't_ offended by Sasuke's smugness, _genuinely_. His ability to lie rivaled mine. I kept up my act and frowned, cutely.

"Well, I still owe you for the tickets…" I trailed off. "We were supposed to go out that night…" I looked down and to the side, allowing another blush to dust my cheeks. I'm horrible, I was really remembering Sasuke's hands leaving a trail of _fire_ everywhere they touched… his eyes only on me as we danced, his smirk as I moved in ways he didn't expect me to… I looked back up, holding onto those memories that made me hot, because I _needed_ to blush and look nervous and all those other things I _should_ be looking like in this situation if it were actually a _genuine_ situation.

Suchiru smiled, reassuringly. He bought my bullshit. Heh. Good. Just keep him going Sakura… only a little more…

"Name any night. I'll go out with you and I promise I won't get sick this time." He laughed at himself. "Sorry about that, by the way. Did you have fun, anyway?" He asked quickly as he "recovered from his embarrassment". I hate liars. Liar. Liar. **LIAR! **

"I had _a lot_ of fun actually!" I smiled, because _fuck _him, I _did_ have fun. Yes, it was with Sasuke and Sasuke was a jerk sometimes, but at least he was a brutally _honest _jerk! Hah! Thanks for funding my "I'm friends with Sasuke" celebration, jackass! I felt like sticking my tongue out at him. Inner did it for me instead and I was temporarily satiated, still keeping my composure, miraculously.

"But anyway, how about we go out tomorrow night? I have one more shift here tomorrow morning and then I'm off for two days, so how about it?" I smiled as genuinely as possible, pretending that I was smiling at Naruto, instead, and Suchiru smiled back. _That_ smile was real. It was _satisfied_. It wasn't happy. It was _satisfied_. There's a difference between the two. In his mind, I was playing right into his ulterior motive, which was simply getting into my pants. Too bad for him that he was playing right into mine.

"Sure, where and when?" He asked, almost _too_ quickly. But again, Suchiru was an artful liar. He had paused _just_ long enough. From the corner of my eye, I could see that Sasuke was leaning against the wall next to us, one foot up against it, arms leisurely crossed. He was watching me carefully. Studying. I was certain he knew what I was doing. I kept my focus on the man I wanted to dismember, this was where I would set up the trap.

"Hofuku, where we were originally supposed to go." I winked. "Just you and me this time though, ne?" I laughed huskily and he nodded, subtly.

"I'll be by to pick you up tomorrow, then." He promised.

Wait what? No! If he did that he'd realize I'm staying with Sasuke! I smiled coyly to cover up my panic.

"How'd you know where I live?" I playfully pushed his shoulder and he gave me a charming smile.

"I have my ways." He shrugged mysteriously, a twinkle in his eye.

"How about you meet me at the Konoha gate instead at ten?" I suggested optimistically, with a grin. I was surprised my stomach miraculously wasn't announcing to the world that I was starving. I blushed as I felt Sasuke's unrelenting stare on me. I felt his gaze practically burning into the side of my face.

"Sounds good, beautiful. Ja ne." The blonde shunshinned, disappearing in a cloud of dusty ash. I counted three seconds before I was sure he was gone and far away enough for me to have a private discussion with Sasuke. My Uchiha teammate spoke before I could even turn and look at him.

"What are you planning." It wasn't a question. So he had me figured out, as I thought. I turned to him and I saw him with crossed arms and a cocked brow. I gave him an apologetic frown— a genuine one— before I explained anything to him, because I owed him an apology.

"I owe you one, Sasuke." I told him, because I was honestly wrong for being violent towards him and defending Suchiru like that, assuming Sasuke was just being an asshole that time in the hospital. Of course, Sasuke, being _Sasuke_ he narrowed his eyes at me. I rolled mine, because he was a sadist and he wanted to hear the full version of my thoughts.

"You were right. About what you said…" I started. "About him…" I looked over and his onyx orbs were as endless and mysterious as always. Shit, I _really _had a thing for dark hair and dark eyes. My heart fucking skipped and started beating faster, because he smirked, almost _proudly_, not of himself, but proud of me.

"So conning him and being sweet to him is a part of whatever you're planning…" He concluded almost sadistically, like he couldn't wait to see what I did to him. Heh. We were on the same page there…

I gave him an evil smirk in response.

"Oh yes… it's an _integral_ part of what I'm planning." I agreed in a promising deadpan that would have made a genin shiver. "Lunch?" I smiled brightly, just then, getting right back onto track with _our_ plans.

"Hn." He nodded.

We continued on our way and made it out the sliding front doors of the hospital, out of the A/C and into the heat of Konoha's spring/summer season. It was still technically spring but Konoha was always a little on the warm side. I decided to continue what I was saying in the hospital.

"But really, I owe you big, so what do you want?" I asked once we were outside. Because as soon as I had access to my wallet I would get him something nice to make up for threatening to break his arm. "If it's a fresh-tomato vending-machine that will satisfy your desires, then I'll get it for you. No joke." I laughed at the idea of Sasuke actually asking for one. That would be hilarious. He fell completely silent, however and his lack of response made me slightly nervous— a bad habit that suddenly crept up on me from way back in our genin days. I looked over at him to gauge his thoughts because I was _not_ twelve years old anymore and I'd figure out what's in his head if it _killed _me. He was staring ahead, seemingly lost in thought. I elbowed him to bring him back to reality. He dodged and spun out of the way of my elbow, falling right back into step as if he'd never been assaulted in the first place— a trait he had obviously picked up from Kakashi-sensei.

"I was still paying attention." He assured me neutrally. I shrugged in response.

" And I was just making sure you were…" I responded. I waited three seconds but his lack of response was killing me. "Come onnnnn I don't have all day! Decide already." I reached over and shoved my finger into his temple and pushed on his head, like I often did when I wanted to annoy Naruto. It was weird to be playful in the same way with Sasuke, but he was my friend now so I'd have to just get used to it eventually. He grabbed my index finger with his middle finger and moved to twist it, but to his lack of surprise I spun my entire body in tune with the way he twisted my finger so in the end he just ended up holding my finger with his. He managed to look mildly impressed. I took that as a complement and gloated.

"What? You're not the _only_ one with decent evasive maneuvers." I smirked and shrugged confidently. He let go of my finger and smirked back. We continued walking down the dirt road, the birds signing livel tunes despite the heat.

"I'll let you know what I want when I want it." He responded cryptically. "But you can't deny me what I want when I tell you. That's the only rule." He explained in an authoritative tone that suited the baritone of his voice.

"That's not fair." I shot back, because he would wait for something _fucked up _to happen before he asked for favors. It could be _years_ from now and he'd probably ask me to baby sit his _fucking _bratty kids and remind me of the time I said I owed him big. No _way_ was I going to let something like _that_ ever happen.

"It's perfectly fair." He countered calmly as we reached the market, but made a left instead to reach the street with all of the restaurants on it. We passed a few places I wasn't really interested in eating at.

"No it's not. It's too far in your favor." I calmly explained as I spied around for someplace good to eat. My stomach rumbled again. Sasuke smirked at it. I shoved him. He swayed, but didn't retaliate. We kept walking, getting odd looks from the people enjoying the weather outside of a café with glasses of ice-cold green tea in hand. I was happy to be away from their prying eyes as we made our way further down the long, wide street.

"Explain." He simply replied.

"Okay, well, there's not enough limitations. For instance, it could be years from now and you'll probably ask me to babysit your bratty kids or something horrendous of the sort… _Or_ you could make me do something that will ruin my future like, I don't know, make me fight to the death for the honor of the Uchiha clan name or something." I shrugged; both examples were lame but they still made my point.

I found him looking at me incredulously, as if I had two heads. I blushed.

"What? I factor in _everything_." I defended myself. Sasuke was sneaky. Owing home something— anything that didn't have rules and regulations attached to it, anyway— was a bad idea.

"I get your point, but since _you_ owe _me_ I think I'm entitled to get whatever I want whenever I want." He persisted in typical Sasuke fashion.

"You can get whatever from me, whenever as long as A) It's feasible, within my power or finances to gain, and it's reasonable, and B) It doesn't cause me lasting unhappiness or ruin my future. … Oh! And C) You have to tell me what I owe you within the timespan of six months starting now or else it's void. Agreed?" Those were fair stipulations right?

Sasuke mulled my terms over and shrugged.

"Hn." He responded calmly.

"I'll take that as a yes." I smiled.

"Where are we going?" He asked, without missing a beat.

"I don't know, or really care. At this point I'll settle for eating dirt if I have to. I'm _starving_." I commented unhappily. Sasuke smirked, amused at his own thoughts and I chose not to pry into them. Suddenly he raised a finger and pointed at a quaint little onigiri stand. I smiled. I _loved_ onigiri. It was the perfect lunch and the little stand had _sushi_ too!

"Onigiri again?" He suggested and I was instantly reminded of the snack we had after our night at Hofuku. I smiled more at the positive memory and the bench and the walk home.

"Sure." I agreed.

We walked over to the stand, operated by a young girl about our age. She looked sweet and had piercing cerulean eyes and chin-length, ashy-brown hair. She wore a red headscarf tied cutely like a headband beneath her hair and a white robe.

"Welcome!" She smiled and I waved. Sasuke took the second barstool from the left and I sat on the edge, taking the last barstool on that side of the counter. A song I liked was playing from a radio in the background. I gasped.

"Eeeeeh!? Is that Ryotaro singing from Shounen Nin!?" I asked and the girl laughed.

"Actually, yes it is, are you a fan?" She asked. I blushed. Was I ever! Ryo-kun was the sexiest civilian man alive. He had the muscle tone of a ninja without actually being one!

"Of course!" I replied.

"Well, not every man trains with professional shinobi." The girl winked. "My name is Hatsuhiko Koto. What can I get started for you; you both look starving." She smiled and even acknowledged Sasuke.

Sasuke didn't say anything in response, but I almost _drooled_.

"Sushi…. And two salmon onigiri, one with tuna, please." I ordered seriously, because I was _more_ than ready to eat.

"You got it! And for you, sir?"

"The same." Bleh. Sasuke was being boring. We watched Koto work as the song played in Ryotaro's sexy, deep voice. I put my chin on my fist, dreamily thinking about what it would be like to meet him in person.

"You know…" Koto spoke to fill the silence. "Ryo-kun has stated in an interview that he specifically dates Kunoichi…" Koto grinned. I blushed. So he had a _thing_ for kunoichi, huh?

"Maybe that's where he gets his physique from… they probably train with him…" I mused. I saw Sasuke roll his eyes from the corner of mine but I ignored him.

"Hey, come to think of it, aren't you Haruno Sakura?" Koto asked. I looked at her and nodded.

"The pink hair gave me away, huh?" I smiled. Sasuke huffed a quiet laugh at my expense that only I could hear. I sent a quick glare his way before I looked back at Koto. He was only laughing because he didn't have to deal with being a shinobi with _pink_ hair. It's really tough enough as it is shannaro!

"So you're a kunoichi _and_ a famous war hero and medic. Maybe you should get a backstage pass, to one of Shounen Nin's concerts, ne?" Koto winked and I laughed. That was silly, but entertaining as a thought nonetheless. I would _never_ use my status to lure in a guy like that. I was above that but it was still funny to think about.

"You dream big, Koto-san!" I giggled. Koto smiled.

"My little sister is a _big_ fan of yours, Sakura-san. When we moved here a year ago she joined the academy with the intent of becoming a combat medical nin like yourself! You wouldn't mind if I told her you both like the same singer, would you?" She was so sweet there was no way I was telling her no.

"Of course you can tell her. Also, pass along that when she becomes a genin I'd be more than happy to give her extra lessons at the hospital if she needs them. Just give me her name. I'll remember."

Koto blushed, eyes wide, surprised at my proposition.

"Oh wow… Her name is Miri. Thank you!" Koto stopped making our food and bowed for a moment. I giggled.

"There's no need to bow. There's a constant need for iryo-ninja that can fight. Anyone that's up to the task is always welcome to give it a shot." I explained. "I plan on opening up a school for such individuals… when I get the money and the time to do it." I explained softly.

"That's a beautiful dream, Sakura-san." Koto smiled. "Here you both go! I'm going to go clean up. Enjoy!" She handed us our dishes— both identical— over the counter of the bar, bowed again and disappeared behind a curtain to give us privacy— something that stand owners usually never did. It was very respectful of her. I smiled at the blue and white curtain she disappeared through.

"Dobe and I aren't the only ones famous." Sasuke commented as he split apart his chopsticks. "Itadakimasu." He stuffed a piece of sushi into his mouth. I believe it was red snapper. I laughed at his comment.

"Well, when you impale yourself on Uchiha Madara's weapon and proceed to repeatedly punch him in the face I think it makes an impact." I grinned and split apart my sticks as well. This was the first time Sasuke and I ever brought up the war. I was nervous. Sasuke nodded above his plate and swallowed.

"How do you plan on helping Yamanaka meet his demise?" He skillfully switched topics, for which I was grateful for… maybe he didn't want to talk about the war either. I grinned wryly at him and bit into my onigiri. On accident, I groaned.

"Sweet kami-sama and everything that is sacred on Konoha lands… this is _delicious_." I explained after I swallowed. Sasuke shook his head because I _was_ being over-dramatic about it. "Oh and I can't tell you what I'm going to do. All you need to know is that it's going to hurt where it counts." I replied matter-of-factly.

I saw his legs twitch on instinct.

"And for the record it may or may not involve physical pain, I don't exactly know yet." I shrugged. Did he have to assume I was just going to kick him where it hurts? I could do much worse and lasting damage than that to his pride instead.

"What tipped you off? You were drooling over him a week ago." Sasuke insulted casually in that almost-smug tone. I kicked his ankle with my foot and smiled as he hissed in pain and growled, but didn't retaliate. I'd like to assume he was well aware that he deserved that one.

"I saw him fucking one of my nurses in the recovery ward." I casually commented back and immediately turned to him in concern when I heard him choke and cough. A piece of sushi or rice must have gone down the wrong pipe. Sasuke had his hand on his chest. One good chakra-laced smack on his back loosened the food stuck in his esophagus. He coughed for a moment before he turned his bewildered onyx eyes to me. I retracted my hand and continued eating my onigiri, calmly, even though the memory made me want to gag and take this onigiri and shove it right into Suchiru's fucking deceptive face.

"Never put me there if I'm ever unconscious." Sasuke threatened in a deadpan and I had to laugh at his choice of words. I wasn't expecting him to say that. I was actually expecting a, "Hn. I told you so" or something like that.

"I might just let you amaterasu the room and say it happened on accident." I laughed again. Sasuke chuckled and continued eating.

"He's a good fucking liar." I frowned and put down my food, not hungry anymore. It was the first time I was willing to open my heart to a Konoha shinobi and he fucking ruined it for me… I had shitty luck. I really didn't feel so hungry anymore…

"You're a better one." Sasuke replied and I looked up at him, confused. "You spin a partial truth into the lies you weave." He clarified and I realized he was talking about my technique. I was able to use memories— or truths as he put it— to make my act more believable. He had noticed. Leave it to Sasuke to notice something like that…

"I hope it helps. He deserves it for being a jackass…" I commented and continued eating. I wasn't going to starve myself because a dumb guy ruined my already shitty day. "Anyway, how was training with Shikamaru?" I asked. Sasuke shrugged.

"Regular." Sasuke replied. I smirked.

"He gave you a run for your money, in other words. Shikamaru isn't a chakra factory like you or Naruto, but he knows how to use his head. I suppose it was a good game of real-life shogi?" I asked knowingly.

Sasuke nodded. The silence stretched between us as we ate. I wasn't uncomfortable. After spending a few days with Sasuke I was used to him. I actually _liked_ the fact that he was quiet. Nowadays I was too tired to engage in meaningless conversation. Dating guys was sometimes even a pain because of that. They needed as much attention as a woman. I smirked as I remembered a Kiri civilian that I had accidentally called "Ino" because he was so chatty. He had blushed and narrowed his eyes, confused. Needless to say I ruined that date, effectively.

"Why did you have three operations this morning?" He asked.

I blinked at the sushi on my plate. His question surprised me. I looked over at him and answered mechanically out of astonishment.

"Two were planned. One was an emergency. Anbu are idiots." I growled and bit into my onigiri, still astounded that my formerly stoic teammate was making a slight effort to talk to me.

"Why is that?" Sasuke asked.

"They crashed through the window of an operating room and threw glass _everywhere_ thinking it would _help _their teammate because they delivered him right under my nose, but if they had just gone through the front entrance I would have been able to begin operating immediately. Instead we had to pick glass off of them all as we moved them. _Oh_ and the glass shards got stuck in his wounds too. Idiots." I rolled my eyes. Oh and by the way, Sasuke, the anbu that was dying looked hauntingly like Neji did when he was dead on the battlefield and scared me half to death. Yeah, I _wish_ I could tell him that… I could see Sasuke narrowing his eyes at his onigiri before he bit into it, chewed and swallowed while I worked on my sushi pieces.

"He survived?" He asked after he chewed and swallowed.

"Yes, he's alive." Thank kami-sama. I don't know what I'd do if I lost him. I remember looking at the seal on his forehead every thirty seconds to make sure I wasn't touching a dead Neji. I shuddered. Fuck. Sasuke noticed.

"What?" He demanded.

"Nothing, just a chill." I replied in a relaxed tone without missing a beat. Lying was becoming an easy thing nowadays… I used to be a shitty liar. You learn not to be that way when you've been kidnapped by a team of disgruntled nukenin seeking honor by killing war heroes. My wit had gotten me out of that one alive and unscathed, thankfully.

We finished our lunch in peace and Koto was out just in time to take— ugh I can't believe I'm going to say this— … just in time to take _Sasuke's _money. Despite my financial discomfort, I grinned and asked her to wish her little sister well for me and said that I'd be back another time. She smiled and waved at us both and bid us farewell, thanking us for our business… well… _Sasuke's _business. Is the week over yet? I miss my wallet… and my freedom. I really do. It's not like I piss through my money, but it's nice to grab myself lunch if I need it… _without_ needing someone there to pay for it for me. I realized I was still in my labcoat when the sun began to beat extra hard down on my head. Slightly miffed with the heat, I took it off and draped it over my arm.

"We should go see the laundry obaa-san tonight… with the cupcakes." I smiled. Sasuke sighed, but I understood that his sigh was more like a full-on groan, at least for someone like him who doesn't express himself much. That was something he was _not_ looking forward to. I giggled.

"Relax, I'll be there too. She likes me." I shrugged and offered.

"She poured bleach all over my clothes once." Sasuke muttered and my heart sank to my stomach. I felt a sickening weight on my chest; it was as if I had just seen a puppy get kicked. That… was fucked up… I really didn't feel like going there anymore. I glared at the dirt road beneath my feet as my anger rose from my stomach to my chest. I felt my pulse quicken with the violent emotion.

"Fuck it, maybe I'll just get you a mini washer and dryer for your birthday…" I grumbled trying to stay positive. I could feel his gaze on me.

"No, let's go." He argued in a neutral tone.

_What? _

"What? Why would you want to? I didn't know she did _that_. If you had told me I would have said, 'screw it!'" I glared up at him next to me and he just shrugged, impassive and almost _lackadaisical_… like Kakashi-sensei… as if it didn't really _matter_ that this woman went out of her way to abuse him in the only way she could. I frowned. His eyes slid to me and my heart did that weird flippy thing again before beating faster. I told it to stop. I couldn't think about how attractive he was fucking being. I was mad right now.

**Fu fu fu…**__

My inner cackled at me and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

"The cupcakes will be for nothing." He reasoned. Cup— _cupcakes_!? The _cupcakes_ will go to waste? Fucking who _cares! _Little kids deserved them more than that woman did! She poured _bleach_ all over his clothes just because he's _Sasuke_! I must have been gaping because he narrowed his eyes and pinned me with a glare. I think we stopped walking.

"I spent minutes covered in chocolate while _you_ showered." He accused venomously sounding more like the Sasuke I was familiar with. "We're giving her the cupcakes." He commanded and we continued walking. I didn't have time to argue as I moved to catch up with him. Wow, we _did_ stop at some point. I didn't even notice. He has that way of just _looking_ at you that makes you stop. I sighed to myself. If he didn't want his efforts to go to waste then… whatever.

"Fine." I settled. A small, tiny, smile graced his lips. He was genuinely satisfied. Sasuke walked me all the way back to the hospital. As we entered through the automatic doors and into the cool A/C I put my coat back on. My staff members looked at us both peculiarly and I _knew_ what thoughts were running through their minds.

Sasuke was here. He had been here to find me about forty-five minutes ago, found me, pulled me away _on my lunch break_ and brought me back with only a minute to spare. What do _you_ think they were thinking? It was obvious. I glared at them. _No_ ladies, for the record, I'm _not_ getting hot and heavy with Mr. Last Uchiha over here. He's _just_ a teammate. I shot a glare at Kimi, specifically; a violet-eyed blonde who giggled as she practically _skipped_ past me. Kimi was a nurse's assistant. She had a big heart and even though I was superior to her she loved to poke fun at me in a loving, big-sister kind of way since she was a few years older. I would hear about this from her later. Ugh… I stopped at the corner where the curved front desk met the wall and so did Sasuke.

"When will you be done?" He asked, casually crossing his arms as he leaned against the main desk that reached his shoulder in height. The secretary at the front in the rolly-chair with her dark brown hair up in a bun shot me a mischievous smile. I _tried_ not to blush because I _knew_ what she was assuming. Why the _fuck_ was Sasuke being so… public? Was that the word for it? Everyone _knew_ that he was single. Everyone knew that _someone_ –meaning _he_ – had to start making Uchiha babies at some point and everyone damn well knew that I was his former teammate— the girl he left on a _bench_ the night he left. This was _so_ embarrassing!

"Um, evening." I vaguely responded, getting nervous. He narrowed his eyes at me. _Not good enough_. I already saw his thoughts on his face. I shot him a desperate look. He was intent on getting a _proper _response. Seriously, what the _fuck_ was up with him today? "Like seven." I supplied in a quieter tone. A family swept past us. A man, holding his wife's hand with his daughter in his other arm. The secretary looked from the family to me. My panic increased. What if— what if they started a _rumor_!? Sasuke's eyes swept the bustling room quickly to see what I was so paranoid about. Shit. He noticed I was freaking out, internally at least. Jashin _damn it_, he was sharp!

"Do you want me to cook instead?" He asked when he refocused on me a split second later. I mean, I _knew_ he was just trying to be helpful but _fuck_ did he have to ask me _here!? _ I nearly died of embarrassment because now rumors would spread like _wildfire_ and it was probably already too late to stop it. Please, _please Kami-sama_! I hope my face isn't red. Nanako, the secretary behind Sasuke, widened her eyes at his words. She scribbled something down on a paper really quick as the second secretary, Jun, a brown-eyed, sandy-haired girl walked past her. Nanako tugged on her skirt and she whirled around only to find Nanako's finger on the paper she had scribbled on. Jun's eyes widened when she read what as on the paper and I _noticed_ them shoot over to where Sasuke and I were standing. Her eyes met mine. I glared. _No _it's _not_ what it looks like. Ugh…

"Do you feel like cooking?" I asked, tensely. "I know you don't like to…" My heart was hammering in my chest. I watched as Jun scurried off. It was like someone hammered the final nail into the proverbial coffin. Now rumors would _definitely _spread. I wanted to _kill_ Sasuke for extending the conversation _and_ for bringing it here to the edge of the half-moon-shaped front desk where people could stick their noses into our business. I suddenly felt his hand on my shoulder and I realized I wasn't looking at him. I was looking at the corner that Jun disappeared behind. I jumped, not expecting his touch and the warmth that came from it. Shit! Did he say something? Did I miss something? I looked up at him again, apologetically.

"Why are you tensed out?" He asked, frowning. He didn't understand. At least, he made it seem that way. Did he really not know what he was making this look like? Or did he just not _care _what it looked like because it really wasn't what it looked like. Actually, that made sense. If Sasuke doesn't care, why should I? I relaxed instantly. Screw them. They could think what they want.

"Um… no reason… I think I'm a few minutes late. I'm worried Tsunade-sama will be angry." I frowned, thinking of my shisho's temper and need for punctuality. It really wasn't a problem for me to take an extra five, sometimes ten minutes on my break, but I had to find something to latch onto to effectively lie to him. He nodded his agreement. He believed me. I had covered my stupid thoughts up effectively.

"I feel like it, so I'll take care of it." He then mentioned, returning back to the topic of who would cook tonight.

"Okay…" I responded and nodded. To be honest, I was actually _excited _for what he would make. I'd never had anything Sasuke made and I wondered if it was any good.

"Ja-ne." And his hand slipped off my shoulder, familiarly, slowly, and purposefully, and he walked away. I waited for him to be completely out of the vicinity before I dropped back against the wall and shoved my hand into my hair. I freaked out for no reason. My heart was still beating violently and I didn't know exactly why. My pulse had sped up and a flash of heat spread across my body when he touched me, _especially _when his hand just slipped off of my shoulder like that. I really _really _had to stop thinking like that. It _really _wasn't right.

**You know as well as I do that you want him touching us… it's nice having his hands **_**everywhere**_** isn't it? Last night was nice too… **

Shut up. Shut up shut up shut _up! _

**Don't you remember? That's the same shoulder he rubbed to comfort us while we were falling back asleep… **

My eyes widened.

No… that… that was a _dream_, stupid!

**Or was it…? **

Fuck. Nanako's giggles reached my ears. I turned angry eyes towards her, thankful for the distraction because Inner was starting to freak me out.

"Ehhhh, Sakura-sama, it seems many Konoha shinobi have eyes for you, even the hard to get ones…" Nanako winked.

"I-It's really not like that!" I snapped but I felt my face get hot anyway. "You better go tell Jun that you got the wrong idea! It's cruel to embarrass people over circumstantial evidence!" I pointed my finger at her dramatically . She shook her head and laughed.

"Jun is a silent one. You shouldn't worry." Nanako reasoned. I glared at the thirty-something year old, but then sighed, too tired to deal with the crap. Again, whatever. They didn't matter. Sasuke was right. Who cared about their opinions? I knew the truth. That was the most important thing.

"I'll be in my office." I excused and retreated to the administrative part of the complex, heart still _traitorously _hammering in my damned chest, and Inner laughing the whole way there!

-X-

YAAAAAAY! FINALLY I MANAGED TO EDIT THIS! I've been wanting to edit this _so _badly for like _ever. _I'm kind of glad that I waited so long to get back to it though because I was able to view this chapter with fresh eyes as I read it. To edit effectively and catch every mistake you wrote you kinda have to forget what you wrote, in a sense. I'm proud of this chapter. I think I wrote Sakura well because she was angry and hungry and tired this chapter and those are feelings I can easily understand. I don't know I want you guys to tell me what you think. I want to hear from you so hit me up with reviews! : )

Disclaimer: I don't own shit. I don't make money off of this.

See 'ya later, Space Cowboy!


	16. Laundry Service

KISEKI

|16|

OMG GUYS! You have to check this _awesome_ cute Sasuke/Sakura fic! It's called **Changing Skies **by an author called **flowerslut**_**. **_It's by far the cutest thing ever if you're into Sasuke being a daddy. It's not corny or really OOC so go read it if you want to read something long, complete and juicy. I found that it was pretty well done!

Anyway! YAAAAAAY! A Sasuke chapter. I've got to say I look forward to these. It's mentally relieving to write as Sasuke. Lol I love his character. Enjoy!

-X-

I smirked as I exited the hospital. Sticking my hands in my pockets, I leisurely made my way down the dirt road. "Step one" was successfully executed. I had _successfully_ convinced Sakura's coworkers and friends that _maybe_ there was something between us. That made her nervous. That was a relatively _good _sign. It proved that she _wasn't_ unaffected by me like she liked to pretend. I had confirmed that she hadn't been able to erase our history from her mind, though she did do a damn good job of not talking about it. I doubt she still had any _concrete_ feelings for me, but the inklings of emotion were still there somewhere; left over from our genin days. They were still _there_. That was important, because now I'm _sure_ her coworkers will bug her about those "maybe feelings". Women like to gossip about things like that. Ino was living, breathing proof of that theory. And, Sakura is definitely a woman. She wasn't impervious to other women's babblings and if that kind of talk steered her mind towards the thought of _maybe_ letting herself love me again, then_ maybe_ I would have a chance with her.

I decided to visit my brother's grave, unsure if I was doing the right thing by digging up the past between myself and Sakura. On my way there, I thought over my day while ignoring the curious, nasty, or dreamy stares I often got from the villagers. I was tired of seeing their mixed opinions on their faces. I had spent a few hours sparring with Udon this morning, which Nara happily interrupted because he was bored and wanted a challenge. I had made him fight my unofficial student, because I wasn't in the mood for his mind games, but because he ended up winning, it became my turn to entertain him. So I did. We sparre stubbornly and relentlessly and it was a good test on what I should and shouldn't waste my chakra on during battle. It had exhausted me. For some reason, as I was lying on the grass next to Udon and Nara, I thought about food. Naturally, reminded me of Sakura and I realized she had no money and hadn't taken any food with her to work. I forced myself up and to the hospital at that point without much of an explanation, reminding Udon to meet me at the same training field tomorrow morning. I ran through the streets still dizzy and high from adrenaline and eventually ran into Sakura… literally. When I realized how many women were looking at us, that's when my plan struck me.

Of course Yamanaka had to put his disgusting hands on her, but the way she smoothly lied to him made up for the rage that started to churn in my core again. Somehow, she had seen the ugly mish-mash of colors beneath his charming façade. It was apparent that Sakura hated liars as much as I did. I was pissed when she told me she had spied him sleeping with a nurse. I was proud that she had remained calm when she explained what happened. I don't know why I expected tears from her, but I was glad to see she wasn't wasting any on him. She was going to give him hell and the asshole fully deserved it.

Speaking of that coincidence, it seems like kami-sama decided to make my life a little easier. It was a _miracle_ and a slim chance that an_ anbu operative_ was actually _caught _having sex in a hospital, no less. Well, granted, it took another anbu— Sakura— to catch him, but regardless the scenario actually _happened_. The timing must have been perfect— again, a one in a million chance. Whatever, the point is that I won't have to lift a finger to make him suffer now. Sakura will just do it for me and I would get to enjoy watching the results with no blood on my hands. Secretly, I'm hoping she'll rip his dick off. He _did_ threaten me, though she doesn't know about that…

And, regarding Sakura, she had said she owed me something… Honestly, was I planning on holding her to that when the right moment came? _Yes_. Did she effectively stop me from doing that? To my misfortune, _yes_. Sakura was intelligent enough to take that much power over her away from me. She was cunning and knew not to trust me with something like that. But let's be honest, I probably _would_ selfishly make her live with me for the rest of our lives just because she owed me and that's really what I wanted. Hn. She thought I'd wait years and make her babysit at the end of it all… I could _definitely _do much worse, if staying away from me is what she was hell bent on accomplishing. If she hadn't put stipulations on that agreement I'd probably use it as a last resort if I couldn't win her over the old-fashioned way. Are you surprised? That's how shinobi work— we have plans and we have back up plans and more back up plans for the back up plans. Either way, I still get a favor from her in the end as a token of apology. She had damn near broken my arm, so I better make the favor count.

As I came upon the graves of the old Uchiha compound, I was surprised to find Kakashi there, still in his anbu gear. If I had to guess, he got back earlier today and was late in delivering his mission report and Tsunade most likely didn't care so he was taking his time. He noticed me _long_ before I joined him in front of Itachi and Obito's pristine stone pillars and _long_ before I noticed him.

"Yo." He greeted in his usual fashion, his one eye crinkling familiarly. I unconsciously took a breath. This was going to be the conversation that helped me decide what I would do from now on, regarding Sakura.

"Hn." I responded, contemplating on what I should say. I needed his advice like a thirsty man needed water. I decided to get right to business. I was never good at making small-talk anyway.

"I need to speak to you." I started carefully. He shrugged in his usual nonchalant manner.

"I figured." He replied, hands in his pockets, much like mine were. Of _course_ he figured. Kakashi always knew what was in my head before I ever vocalized my thoughts. I stopped being embarrassed about that a couple of years ago and learned to just appreciate it. I'm not exactly social and it's hard for me to verbalize what I'm feeling or thinking. These last four years have taught me that if I was having a problem it always helped for Kakashi to just _know_. It made my life easier. It made the problems easier to fix. I sighed and stared at my brother's picture. I would be a liar if I said I wasn't nervous.

Itachi… I really wished for him to be here with us; he always just _knew_ everything too. Of course, I was grateful to have Kakashi, don't get me wrong. I just had to wonder what would have happened had I not killed nii-san. Would Tsunade have dug up the truth and stopped the bounty on his head _and_ his mission? Would Danzo have gone to finish him off before any of that could have happened? Would we have fixed everything in time for him to come back and get his illness treated? I had no doubt in my mind that Tsunade, Sakura and Shizune would have been able to find a cure for whatever he had. I frowned at the grass and flowers in front of his pillar, regretting taking his life, even if that was what he wanted in the end. Life was better than death. At least if you're alive you can fix things. Nothing changes when you're dead. Your story just stops and you bring misery to the people who care about you. Kakashi's hand on my shoulder shook me from my depressing thoughts… It made me smirk, because I figured he _knew_ what I was thinking about.

"So are you going to talk or should I just start guessing?" He asked and then placed his hands back in his pockets once he realized he had my attention. I took a deep breath, because my next statement was going to be self-reflective and it would knock him off his feet. In fact, I probably should have asked him to sit first, in-case he wasn't prepared, but whatever…

"I think I like Sakura." I hoped he would understand what I meant; that I _definitely _liked her and didn't know if I was four years too late at this point. He was quiet for a few moments. I was tense. I didn't know what he would say. This time I was _sure _I had caught him off guard. He wasn't expecting _that_… I looked over at him, nervously, abandoning my brother's pillar with my eyes. I studied his blaze expression. He looked bored as always, but I knew him better than that. He was thinking; _calculating_. Maybe he _did _expect it? Finally, _finally_ he just shrugged some minutes later, like it was whatever, which it fucking wasn't.

"Okay." He responded.

_Okay?_ _That's it_? I think he sensed my frustration. We looked at each other. His one dark eye met both of mine. I realized through his body language that he wasn't going to say anymore. I narrowed my eyes to express my annoyance with him.

"I need more than that." I stated. I need to know if I'm fucking up, Kakashi. Tell me if I am. You're the only person that always had the balls to tell me my mistakes before I actually made them.

"What more do you need?" He questioned. "If you _think_ you like her it's not my business to tell you what to do with your thoughts." He shrugged again and I got his point. He wanted me to be honest with him and myself. The tenseness left my shoulders. Okay… so he was making this a social learning exercise… because? … Maybe I'd _need_ it later? I felt confused by his actions.

"I _do _like her." I clarified. "I just don't know if it's healthy for her for me to tell her that." Kakashi's eye seemed to twinkle in satisfaction. I'm pretty sure I started glaring at him. I didn't like Kakashi's games. I sucked at them. And I didn't like games when I was being serious, but this is usually how our relationship worked so I shut my mouth and waited for him to respond.

"Aaaah. Now _that's _an entirely different scenario." He commented, waving his hand lazily like it was a big deal. "So you've noticed that Sakura's changed… not entirely in a good way, either." He studied me for a response. So Kakashi knew that she was having issues that she was hiding, whatever they were. I nodded. Yes, Kakashi. I like Sakura and the person she came to be, but she's becoming an alcoholic and having chronic nightmares for reasons unknown. Would I help her or hurt her by pursuing her in a romantic sense? Use your father-figure powers and figure it out because it's embarrassing for me to outwardly say.

"Well then best of luck to you, you're going to need it. The amount of walls she has up around her are astounding. Ja-ne." He turned to leave… He fucking turned to _leave_! Glaring, I grabbed the sleeve of his dark shirt before he could even turn the other way. No fucking _way_ was I going to let him get away with dropping _that_ bomb and just _leaving. _No. He looked up at me, his one visible eyebrow lifting curiously and creating a surprised expression on the one-fourth of his face that I could see.

"I need your input." I practically growled. He _knew_ that! Why was he playing the fool?

"I _did_ give you my input." He shrugged again.

"It's not clear enough." I shot back.

"And neither are you." He responded meaningfully. Yes. I had communication issues. We've established this long ago, possibly on the day we first met. I narrowed my eyes because even though he had made a good point I still needed a straight answer. I stressed about talking to him since last night, so he would stay here and give me legitimate advice even if I had to nail his toes to the fucking ground and wait four weeks to get it. He seemed to read my body language pretty well because he sighed and I saw his one eye roll.

"You want me to tell you whether or not you're making a mistake by involving yourself in her life again... as a possible romantic interest." He drawled as if he were bored of torturing someone already. Good. _Finally_,we were getting somewhere. That was exactly what I wanted him to understand.

"I don't want to hurt her." I added to his statement, confirming what he said with a nod first. "You need to tell me if I'm making a mistake." I clarified, deciding to be straight-forward like he was trying to teach me to be.

"So long as you have her best interest in mind I don't think you're mistaken. All I can say is that you should tread carefully. Sakura isn't the same girl you left on a bench when you were twelve. She's been through… _a lot_ these last four years, especially after the war. Some of her thoughts or actions may surprise and even anger you, but I guess you're the only one left who can maybe get through to her, Sasuke." He shrugged. "Kami-sama knows we all tried at some point."

"Why didn't you tell me about what happened between her and Naruto." That was the last thing I needed to know before I let him go. My grip loosened around the fabric of his shirt. I let go of him and he tried to smooth out the wrinkles my hand caused in his sleeve with no success.

"Honestly, Sasuke, it wasn't my business to begin-with. I didn't get involved in it myself and if you knew you would have stuck your nose into it out of obligation when the time wasn't right for you to do so. You would have screwed it up worse and I didn't want that for you or them. Naruto was Sakura's breaking point. She hasn't improved since." Kakashi explained thoroughly. I nodded. I understood his judgment. It made sense. He stuck his hand up in a short wave and disappeared in a blur of leaves and wind. I turned back to my brother's grave and ran a hand over my face and through my hair, taking a deep breath. That conversation was more open and stressful than I wanted. Usually I let him do most of the talking.

I exhaled as I scratched my scalp. Okay. Kakashi approved. I wasn't necessarily fucking up or opening closed wounds, but he was right, I was going to need a hell of a lot of luck to get back into Sakura's good graces. I also couldn't just outwardly tell her how I felt, either. Not only would that be uncomfortable, but she probably wouldn't believe me anyway. I think I turned green just imagining myself opening my mouth and her laughing at what came out of it. I shuddered. I'd have to _show _her how I felt first. Actions spoke louder than words. I'd also have to gauge how she felt first before I even acted, as well.

Nii-san… Fuck. I really wish you were here. For the first time in a long time I felt alone again. Kakashi was helpful, but he had thrown his hands up and left it to me in a way, which made sense because it was _my _problem that only _I _could fix, but still. It would be nice to hear, "Oh just go for it Sasuke, everything will be fine, she still feels the same about you as before." I imagined the sentence in his voice. Hn. If only it were that easy. I couldn't even really go to Naruto about this because… just because it was a sensitive topic, especially since they had a _thing_ kind of...

I _still_ didn't really know how I felt about that. I was still mad. At Naruto. For being there when I should have been. But the reason was entirely stupid and immature. It was more out of jealousy and self-deprecation anyway. I'd have to just let it go. It wasn't healthy. I was going to win her back, nevermind that Naruto had even helped me by moving me in next to her. If he hadn't done that I wouldn't have realized what I felt. He was, as always, being the bigger person and naturally just doing the right thing. I should just let go too. He was fucking helping me get the woman he loved. You didn't get any more heroic or self-sacrificing than that.

I sat down in front of my brother's grave and rested my cheek on my left fist. Once I had that settled in my head I felt better; much less angry and much more peaceful. A warm breeze blew by and I pushed hair out of my face in annoyance. How the hell did Itachi deal with his hair being so long? Granted, he had always tied it back, but my bangs were touching my chin at this point and I was starting to feel like my mother. Despite my aggravating hair, I smiled at the memory of my mother. She was buried at this memorial as well, except her pillar was deeper in the former compound than Itachi's because she had died sooner.

I remember how she used to always know what I was up to. When I was sneaking around she knew. When I was distraught, she knew. When I was cooking up a trap to set for nii-san, she knew. Hn. Some days she even helped with the traps when there wasn't too much housework to be done. Those were the days I always _almost _got him. Somehow he managed to evade them all, even _with_ my and okaa-san's combined sneakiness. She would just shake her head and comment on how Itachi was skilled beyond his years. I remember the reading and writing lessons she began with me as soon as I was able to speak and hold a pencil correctly. Those were fuzzier memories because they were _so_ old, but I still remembered them. I clung to them because they were _happy _memories, of which I have few. I even remember the one time she hid in the house when I was three to see if I had any natural sensory skills. When I realized I was alone and searched the _entire_ mansion without being able to find her I had wailed in the living room next to the bored family cat because I thought I had been abandoned. That was when she appeared and just hugged me, apologizing for the "mean test" she gave me.

"_Gomenasai Sasuke-chan. Mommy was just giving you a small test. Your nii-san got the same one when he was your age!"_ She had winked and I remember sniffling and asking her if he'd passed it. She had chuckled and shook her head. Looking back, that was probably a comforting lie because by the time he was four, Itachi was already kicking ass in the third war probably before he even set foot in the academy. I smiled at my brother's grave. He was always ten steps ahead of me. He's dead now but I probably would _still_ never catch up to his level. Regardless, I'll always look up to him and who he was.

"I'll do my best to catch up, nii-san, like always." I promised, and then stood to go find my mother and father's pillars. Deeper in the memorial park, the trees thickened and the warm, breezy weather persisted. It was the perfect day to visit family and just relax on the grass. After a few minutes of walking, I reached my mother's grave and smiled at her picture.

Her strength and skill was probably always noticed second to her beauty. Itachi and I were fucking lucky. I mean, I'm not one to gloat, but if it weren't for our mother I don't know if we'd look half as good. I looked over at my dad's stern expression on his pillar. I hated to say it, but I realized the last several years that I'm a lot fucking like him. Yes, Itachi may have _looked _more like him, but _I_ definitely acted like him. I wasn't as cold and success-driven as I remember him being throughout my childhood… well, at least _now_ I'm not— but I _definitely_ kept his stubbornness, maybe even his foolishness if I were to take a _deep_ and grandiose psychological look at myself. I wonder how he ended up with kaa-san… They never told me the story, but I probably never asked because I thought it would be frowned-upon. Then I frowned as the thought that it was probably an arranged marriage shot across my mind. Was Itachi's future marriage going to be arranged too? I frowned again. I remembered Obito telling me that Itachi had killed his lover during the massacre. I wondered which girl he fell in love with but there were too many pillars to search through and find her. That was a task for another day. Maybe I'd ask Kakashi. He had worked with Itachi in anbu. Maybe he knew.

I wondered if otou-sama would be proud of me, or disappointed beyond belief at this point. If that night never happened, would he be upset with me having feelings for someone who wasn't Uchiha? I smirked. Actually, it would be just like him and I to disagree about something like that. Itachi would have probably dutifully married the woman he loved and become the new clan head and I would have given them all the finger and done whatever I'd liked, with kaa-san's support, of course. Itachi would silently work and pull strings in the background to make sure I had the leisure and leniency to continue doing whatever I wanted for as long as I wanted as well. He'd probably get Shisui-nii in on it too. I smirked as I sat in front of my parent's graves, crossing my legs and then leaning back on my hands. I missed the overbearing presence of my father, to be honest. It always gave me something to strive for when I was a child. Kakashi was really lax compared to him.

I had a feeling that if Otou-san were alive we'd probably argue a lot. Kaa-san would probably get along well with Naruto and Sakura. She was always king and reassuring. I think I missed her the most. She _always _knew _just _what to say and even when to say it. She knew Itachi, otou-sama and I better than anyone else who had come into contact with us. And expertly, she was never on any one of our bad sides. Ever.

Come to think of it, I _never_ saw my parents fight. I saw my brother and father hiss at each other like angry cats, but I have never once seen anyone fight with my mother. I actually couldn't even imagine her career as a kunoichi before she had us. I couldn't imagine her violent, though, I remember that as a kid she _did_ have her scary moments when I wasn't good. I chuckled because I remembered the one time she smacked my hand with a wooden spoon when I reached for dinner before otou-san got home. I remember being more surprised at how _fast_ she had moved than upset that my hand was stinging. Nii-san seemed surprised too.

I stood up, the memories beginning to make me ache for my family, and bowed to both of their graves respectfully. I decided to visit Shisui's pillar next, just because I remember him _always_ being goofy. When I reached his pillar, I put my hands together and bowed low. Out of everyone, even Itachi, he probably had made the biggest sacrifice. Danzo stole his eye when he tried to stop the coup himself. That fucker had tried to have him killed for his own agenda. "Protect Konoha in his own way" my _ass_. He had left his will to Itachi and died without seeing peace.

"I'm sorry you had to do that." I remembered him throwing himself off of the cliff into the raging Naka river as if it were my own memory. I shuddered. He had left it all to Itachi and Itachi had finally left it all to me. I had no one to leave it all to. I was the last one of us standing. I had helped destroy Madara. I had helped Naruto stop his evil bullshit. I had to wonder… would Otou-san or Okaa-san or Nii-san encourage me to continue our lineage? Or would they advise me to let it die?

I frowned. Out of pride, father would have told me to do it "or else", definitely. Mother would have just smiled and promised to help if the time ever came for me to be a father. Itachi? … I don't know how Itachi would have responded. _"Do whatever you want Sasuke"_. Yeah, he'd probably say that. _"No matter what you decide from now on, I'll always love you." _His last words echoed through my mind. I sighed and shook my head at Shisui's picture, in which he was grinning. His grin was infectious and I found myself smiling back. Whatever. I'd do whatever because… whatever; Itachi would have wanted me to make my own choices, so I will.

I waved at Shisui's grave and walked away. Passing through the memorial park and back to its entrance, I waved at my father, my mother, then at Itachi and Obito. I'd be back another time, next time with more stories to tell. Shisui would laugh at what Yamanaka had coming to him… I'd have to make sure to tell him first when Sakura finally told me her plan.

-X-

When I got home, I kicked off my shoes, then immediately went to my desk in my room and pulled out a blank paper and a pen. It was about time I gave Naruto the push and the response from me that _he_ needed… Sitting down at the quiet kitchen table, I began to think of how to write this...

"Sorry dobe, but you know that if you shove I shove back…" I mumbled, then activated my sharingan and began to write.

_Hyuuga Hiashi-sama, _

I grimaced at Naruto's scratchy handwriting coming from my hand, but at least it was accurate. I studied the paper with red eyes. What to say? What would Naruto say? More importantly, how would he say it?

_As the future of Konoha, I am writing to ask your permission to formally court your eldest daughter, Hyuuga Hina—_

I crumpled up the paper in aggravation. Hiashi wouldn't believe that. The fucking daimyo, as empty-headed as the man was, wouldn't fucking believe that. That wasn't Naruto at all. I rolled my eyes and sighed, running a frustrated hand through my hair. Thankfully, I took an extra paper with me. I ripped that one to shreds, and threw the tiny pieces of paper into the air. I ignited them with Amaterasu and watched as they burned in mid-air, disappearing from existence. I pulled the flames back into my doujutsu and refocused.

_ Hiashi-sama_

_I, Uzumaki Naruto, future rokudaime of Konohagakure am asking to date Hinata-chan. Officially. Let me know what you think. _

_-Uzumaki Naruto- _

I smirked. Short, blunt, somewhat-thought-out and respectful in a kind-of/sort-of way. That was more Naruto's style. I folded up the note, placed it in an envelope and headed out, smirking like I had just won a game of shogi against Nara. It only took me twenty minutes to enjoy the entire walk to the Hyuuga compound, drop off the letter in their main mailbox, and then smugly walk _all_ the way back to my apartment. If Hiashi asked, enough people saw me to assume that I was personally delivering the letter in Naruto's honor as his brother and best friend. Hn. Dobe was going to be pissed when he found out, but it would be worth it because it would set him straight and let him know that I was going to make an effort in Sakura's direction. I frowned, hoping she wouldn't shut me down, because from what I've seen of her, she seems kind of over me.

Back at my apartment, I started contemplating what to cook for dinner. I didn't like cooking, but Sakura wasn't going to be able to stand straight tonight, let alone make any food, so I went over the dishes I knew how to make in my head. It occurred to me that I didn't know what dishes Sakura liked. I knew she liked onigiri and _not_ spicy things… but I didn't know what she would prefer to make for herself. The past few nights she'd been making a lot of meat and vegetables that contained a lot of protein only because she knew my body needed it.

I glared at my kitchen stove. This was already becoming a nightmare and I hadn't even started yet. I looked at the clock. It was _already_ six. Apparently I had spent more time than I thought at the Uchiha memorial. I had to think of something and _quick._ I remembered the dinnerbox she made me before she realized I was her neighbor. It was balanced. Just enough of everything. Maybe she liked to eat that way? Fuck. I knew she liked anmitsu. Should I make anmitsu too?

Stop. Just stop, Sasuke.

I scratched my forehead beneath my hitai-ate. I was overthinking things. It was _just_ food. I opened he cabinets and the refrigerator to first see what the hell we had in stock for me to cook. Then I deflated because Sakura had bought _everything_ we could possibly _ever_ need, leaving me with too many option to choose from.

Jashin, _damn it_! She never made _anything _easy. We had enough fucking food to last us through a siege and an apocalypse should any of those ever happen. I rolled my eyes and the idea just hit me. Oyakodon. I'd be making oyakodon. You can't hate a bowl of rice with meat, vegetables and salmon roe on top. It was safe. I wasn't a safe person, though, so I smirked. I'd take a risk and make my mother's miso to go along with the oyakodon. For Sakura's sake I'd leave the spices out of the miso, though I personally didn't want to. My mother's miso was delicious, but her _spicy _miso made by _her_ would probably convert Naruto from his Ichiraku ramen obsession, hands down.

"Okaa-san... I'd like your help if you can give it…" I mumbled the tense prayer and looked at the clock. I had spent fifteen minutes of my already short time thinking. Wordlessly, I got to work.

-X-

I had turned the stove off at around half-past seven and covered all of the food. To my aggravation, Sakura wasn't home yet. Of _course_ she wouldn't be home on time the one night I had to cook. I glowered at the clock as if it knew the answer to why she was late. Actually, Sakura was _never_ late. I washed my hands as concern touched my thoughts. Had something happened? I looked over at my door. I didn't hesitate to slip my shoes on, grab kusanagi and head out to find her, leaving the steaming food behind.

I hopped across rooftops, running faster than I intended to. The streets were quiet, but that was average for this time of the evening… _everyone_ was eating dinner. Everyone except Sakura and I. Frowning, I pushed myself to go faster and finally ended up at the hospital. A genin boy with wild brown hair and blue eyes sat at the main desk with the same secretary that was there earlier in the day. Both of them jumped in surprise when I just _appeared_. The secretary recovered first, probably used to shinobi antics by now. The boy began to grin in amusement when his shock wore off. His blue eyes looked determined to become just as fast as me one day.

"Oh, Uchiha-san." The brown-haired woman greeted with a professional smile. "Looking for Sakura-sama?" She queried then with a hint of mischief in her tone. I smirked. Hn. Good. She remembered earlier today. I secretly hoped she also remembered to grill Sakura with questions and beat it into her head that she should consider me as well, but that was just a side-thought. My main concern was finding Sakura and making sure she wasn't passed out somewhere. I nodded at her.

"She's in her office doing paperwork." The woman smiled and then turned back to the genin boy, instructing him to file something in alphabetical order. The boy snapped his attention back to his D-rank mission and continued filing.

I unintentionally narrowed my eyes at the woman before leaving. What the hell was Sakura doing paperwork for a half hour after she was supposed to be home? Wordlessly, I turned and moved down the hall to my right, where I had walked with Shizune to Sakura's office before. Once the people in the hallways had thinned out and I was relatively alone, I broke into a run. Yes, running in hospitals was not wise nor was it really allowed, but I could care less. I reached her door in under thirty seconds. I knocked on it.

No answer.

Aggravated, I ran around in the administrative halls, found an empty room used for some paperwork I didn't really care to look over and climbed out of the window. Now outside of the hospital, I scaled the concrete wall, walking on it sideways and found the window to Sakura's office. It was the only really large one in that wing with blinds over it. I tried to push the window open but damn Sakura, it was locked. I could see a faint yellow glow beneath the blinds so I knew she was in there, she was just… _unresponsive_ for some reason. I did not like that she was unresponsive and unsealed my lockpick set from the seals on my arm-warmers. It took three tries and two broken picks but I fucking managed to unlock the infuriating thing. Sealing away the tool set, I slid open the window, the screen and the blinds and found Sakura with her face buried in her arms, thankfully _breathing _on her desk.

Her pink hair spilled all over the paperwork that now slightly rustled in the breeze. I activated the sharingan without thinking and found that she was completely tapped out of chakra. She had fucking overworked herself. Pissed at her lack of self-concern, I shut the screen, the window and the blinds and walked over to her. She had blood stains on her previously pristine white labcoat. I grimaced at that, but shook her shoulder anyway.

"Mmm~no~mm.." She lifted a heavy arm to swat me away but it just fell back to her desk with an audible thump. She resettled her head on her other arm, messing up her paperwork and I cringed at the position she was hunched over in. Her back was going to kill her when she stood up straight again. I would have to hear to complaint. Wonderful.

"Sakura." I sternly spoke, but still kept my voice low. She was tired, and I _did_ somewhat feel bad for waking her. She didn't respond so I shook her shoulder again.

"No Shi'zne~mm…" She slurred again. I glared at her. I was _not _Shizune and I would _not_ be dismissed by her. I leaned closer to her ear. Maybe she'd hear me in her head.

"Sakura. It's not Shizune. Wake up." I deadpanned. Her eyebrows crinkled.

"Hmm~whaa?"

…

Two seconds later her eyes flew open and she pushed herself away from her desk and me so fast she toppled her chair over. With a shriek I watched in slow motion as she fell backwards with the chair, reaching out desperately for something to grab onto. Without thinking, I grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the chair and into me. I stumbled backwards and hit the blinds and the glass behind them, Sakura safe against my chest. Her head snapped up and she looked at me with wide, jade orbs.

"S-Sasuke? How'd you get in here!?" She seemed bewildered. Then, she blushed, probably realizing why I was here. "Shit! What time is it?" She hissed more at herself than me.

Her eyes snapped over to the clock above her bookcase. It read 7:45. She looked at it in horror, then looked back up at me.

"Shit! I'm so sorry! I was so tired and I fell asleep and I had paperwork and it was soooo boring and—

I picked her up, not really caring to hear her excuses, even though she made it amusing. I knew she had a full workload and I knew she didn't intend to leave me hanging. I ignored her startled shriek as I easily lifted her and held her against me.

"H-Hey! Put me down! I can walk!" She argued. I smirked. Nope. For making me wait, I would make _sure_ people had the wrong idea about us so they could badger her for me in the future. I walked towards her door confidently, despite her struggling against me.

"S-Sasuke! _Stop_!" Her green eyes widened in horror when she realized what I was going to do. I held back my smirk and tried to play "innocent" as I bent forward, with her in my arms, and tried to open the door. I had just pushed the lever down and began to pull the door open when she lunged forward and body slammed the door shut with her torso. The door shut with a loud thump and because I didn't want to drop her I pitched forward and hit my _fucking _head on the door she was still leaning as much weight as she could against. We were now both awkwardly pressed against this door, her panicked breaths filling the silence between us. I glared at her as she sat red-faced in my arms, one of her hands clinging onto the molding, and one of her shoulders rammed against the wood.

"What was _that_ for?" I glowered because there was no reason for my head to get slammed against that door, hitai-ate lessening the damage or not.

"I can walk on my own." She vehemently argued. "And you deserved that for not setting me down." She pointed up to where my forehead protector was still touching the wood of the door with her free hand.

_What? _No I fucking _didn't _"deserve" that. If anything she deserved being paraded through the hospital because she allowed herself to become over-worked and miss dinner!

"You can barely stand up straight. You have no chakra and I can feel you shaking." I listed off her weaknesses instead, giving her reasons to let me carry her and she glared at me _harder_.

"I can walk." She repeated stubbornly.

"No you can't." I repeated back just as stubbornly.

"Yes I can." With her nose practically up in the air.

Tch. Childish.

"No you can't."

I couldn't help but dig my heels into the ground too.

"Sasuke put me down." She commanded in an authoritative tone.

"No." I refused blatantly.

"Put. Me. Down." She was getting pissed.

"Or what? You'll make me?" I challenged with a smirk. There was no way she could make me. She was out of chakra.

She growled and pushed off the door throwing all of her weight onto me and pushing me back. I realized I was still holding onto the doorknob and clung to it so I wouldn't fall backwards.

"Fuck!" I shouted when I forgot that you had to _pull_ the door towards you to open it. I ended up falling onto my back, throwing the door all the way open in the process, and groaning as Sakura's forehead connected with my collarbone and as the back of my head connected with the floor.

The sound of giggling reached my ears. I felt Sakura's hands fist in my shirt in aggravation.

"Sakura-sama! Are you all right?" A female voice reached my ears. It sounded too jovial to actually be concerned. I looked up to see Sakura on top of me, horrified, angry and embarrassed at the same time, as a short-blonde-haired nurse walked past the door next to her long-brown-haired coworker. The coworker giggled.

"Don't worry Kiki, I think she's in good hands." The brunette reasoned as Kiki, the blonde snickered.

"I think you're right, Ai!" She agreed.

The two giggled all the way down the hallway and I couldn't help but smirk. Mission accomplished. Again.

Sakura looked like a tea kettle about to blow its top. For some reason I was more amused than afraid.

"RRRRRRRSASUKEEEEEE!" She shouted and twisted herself so she was sitting on me. She held onto the front of my shirt with one hand, and pulled back her fist. She punched and I caught said fist before she could even visualize it connecting with my face. I kept smirking because it was comical to see her mad and unable to do much about it. Come to think of it, she didn't even have her weapons pouch on her; it was on her desk mingling with her paperwork. It made her angrier that she couldn't hit me, so she blindly tried to punch me with her other fist after letting go of my shirt. I caught her other fist in my other hand and now had my arms crossed in front of me in a perfect defensive position. Her face was pink with embarrassment and her green eyes were narrowed. I smugly cocked an eyebrow.

"Not my fault you wanted to throw me off balance." I shrugged beneath her because we were caught like this because of _her_ not me... Then I looked out into the empty hallway, hearing more footsteps coming down it. "You should close that unless you want more people to see." I suggested in a deadpan. Blushing, because we _were _in a pornographic position, she lifted one of her legs to push the door shut with. I waited for it to slam before I used her shift in balance to throw her off of me and roll myself on top of her. Now _she_ was pinned to the floor, her wrists above her head, looking up at me, surprised. She then glared and struggled beneath me, but she got nowhere so she closed her eyes, took a deep breath and sighed instead.

"Ugh fine, you fucking win. Just get off so we can go home and eat. I'm too hungry for this shit." She finally grumped. Satisfied, I released her wrists and rose to my feet. I held my hand out for her to take, which thankfully she did without much of an argument. She swayed a little when she stood and I held onto her to make sure she was all right. I glared at her because my point was made, she _wasn't_ really good to walk, but she shot me a stubborn look so I relented and decided not to start the argument over again. Besides, I no longer needed to parade her through her workplace in my arms. I had two nurses who had clearly seen her on top of me purely on _accident_. Yes, she would have much thinking to do because there would be much talk about her and I _very_ soon. It was like planting seeds properly so they could grow into the kind of greenery I wanted.

I opened the door and stepped aside, waiting for her to go through. She rolled her eyes, crossed her arms and walked through, pulling off her labcoat as she did so. I exited her office after her and shut the door behind us, watching as she pulled her identification card off of the labcoat and began walking down the sterile hall.

"You never told me how you got in there." She started. I smirked and debated on telling her. I felt her eyes on me and I saw her glare. She was in a bad mood.

"Don't be secretive about it." She warned. I decided not to piss her off more.

"I knocked and you didn't answer so I just picked open the lock on your window." I explained.

"Oh. Was it hard to pick?" She asked, curiously. I wondered why but didn't ask.

"I broke a few picks." I shrugged. She smirked.

"Good." With that I saw her throw her labcoat into a large laundry cart in the main lobby. The secretary looked at us and winked. Sakura shot her an unforgiving glare and I just ignored her.

"Oyasumi Nanako." Sakura deadpanned behind her shoulder.

"Oyasumi, Sakura-sama!" The woman chirped _too _cheerily. I fought to keep my face blank. Whatever, if Sakura was mad that I was here picking her up then it was her own fault for falling asleep and concerning me with her whereabouts. After about two minutes of walking away from the hospital, Sakura stopped.

"Is the food you made getting cold?" She asked, and when I looked at her she looked aplogetic, and guilty. I didn't want to lie, so I nodded whether it made her feel worse or not. I really didn't want the food to get cold before we could eat it. She lifted her arms up and I understood. I stepped towards her, put one arm behind her legs and the other around her back. Once she as securely resting against me, I shunshinned so quickly we were at my apartment in just twenty seconds or so. I set her down and unlocked the door. To my pleasure, the food was still slightly steaming. Sakura immediately got to work and started setting the table, but I wasn't going to have any of that. With my luck she would pass out at just the wrong time, drop and break my dishes and then cut her face when she fell on them. She reached upwards but I took her forearms into my hands and placed her arms back against her sides. She turned her head to look at me, and glared.

"Just sit down." I let her go, grabbed her shoulders, turned her around and pushed her to the side. I could hear her make an annoyed noise but she decided against arguing and I heard her sit at the kitchen table instead. She watched in annoyance as I set the table quickly, put all the food into our bowls and even poured the still-hot tea. Good thing I had the sense to make everything _extra _hot when I made it and made my trip to pick up Sakura relatively quick. I sat down and watched her smile at her bowl of oyakudon.

"Itadakimasu!" She exclaimed excitedly, her aggravation with me temporarily forgotten, and dug in before I could reply. I smiled down at my own bowl of food and began to eat as well. Minutes stretched on and Sakura was silent as she voraciously ate. I purposefully took my time, sipping my tea idly in between bites. How was I going to put my thoughts into words? I knew that even though she was obviously content with the food she was going to be angry with me for treating her like a weakling earlier. I had to say something _now_ while she was still happy to smooth that over.

"I didn't want to carry you because I think you're weak. I wanted to carry you because it would've been faster." I commented, leaving out the fact that I wanted to embarrass her a little as well. She needed to know that I knew she was strong; that I _respected_ her strength. "I also didn't want you to drop and break any dishes. I know you're overworked." I explained in a deadpan because I wanted her to know that I'm not oblivious to her lack of chakra, hunger, or fatigue. I'm not an idiot.

She paused and a light blush dusted her cheeks. I listened to her as she swallowed what was in her mouth.

"Thank you, Sasuke." She murmured in an apologetic tone and continued eating. I didn't press the issue any further and continued to eat as well.

"More surgeries after lunch?" I asked now that that was squared away. She nodded, though she didn't verbally respond. She got to work on the small bowl of miso next to her emptied bowl.

"Mmmmm!" She exclaimed as she tasted it. My fucking chest tingled at her excitement. I wish it would stop doing that when I didn't expect it to… I felt my pulse quicken too. I wanted to be annoyed but I didn't really have time for any internal reflection because she spoke again.

"What's in this!?" She asked, looking at me with her bright, green eyes. I smirked in response; I wasn't about to give away my mother's secrets… not yet at least. Just then I quickly prayed that Sakura would never find the cookbook hidden away in the top cabinet of my kitchen. My mother's little comments and notes were still written in it. I was grateful to Kakashi for fishing it out of my house after the massacre. He had given it to the third hokage to give to me, but the old man told him to "keep it until the time was right". When I came back to the village, after the war ended the cookbook was his gift to me. I smiled at the memory. On some of the pages she had noted who liked each dish and who didn't. I used to get depressed every time I read "add diced tomatoes for Sasuke" at the bottom of some of the pages. My mother was always thinking of me when she was alive…

"It's secret." I explained professionally with a shrug and went back to eating. She threw me a dejected look but happily returned to eating the soup anyway. Not long after we finished eating I had forced her to sit and watch as I did the dishes. I don't even remember how I won that argument, but somehow I did. Actually, I kind of didn't win yet, because she was _still _arguing.

"You know, I'm okay now. Let _me_ finish the dishes. I really just needed some food, I swear." She nagged from her spot at the kitchen table. I ignored her and scrubbed, adding more dish soap to the sponge.

"Sasuke, this is the second night in a row you're doing dishes. That's not fair." I knew that. I still ignored her, rinsing the bowl I was working on.

"Sasuke, you're taking for_ever _and we still have to go do laundry." I hated her logic because she was right, but she was annoying me and I had already made my decision so I just continued to ignore her.

"Sasukeeeee. Stop being stubborn." Yet she made no move to physically remove me from the sink knowing it was futile. I ignored her.

…

…

…

…

Finally. There was silence. I allowed myself to focus on finishing up the dishes. For some reason, the task relaxed me. I inhaled and exhaled like I often did during meditation and relaxed my shoulders a little. I had closed my eyes for a split second. That's when I felt a pressure on my wet hands. I jumped, dropping a small soup bowl in the sink. I whirled around to find myself face-to-face with… _not_ an enemy shinobi. I exhaled. It was Sakura. Just Sakura, with water dripping from her hands, down her bare arms. She was _fucking stealthy_. Especially when she was depleted of chakra. I was partially to blame too, because I had allowed myself to completely relax. She had snuck into my personal space and tried to take my hands off of the dishes. Stealthy. Fucking stealthy. I didn't know why my heart was hammering in my chest, though. I knew I wasn't afraid. I felt… excited? I _liked_ that she had no issues with touching me. Realizing where those thoughts would take me, I abruptly turned back around and picked up the bowl I'd dropped. I inspected it. It wasn't broken. Good. I continued washing.

"You're so fucking stubborn." She sniped and I could imagine her standing behind me with her arms crossed, a hip popped out in a feminine position full of attitude.

"I know." I replied neutrally working on the tea cups after setting the one soup bowl on the drying rack. The water rushed out of the faucet in a steady stream, filling the few moment of silence that followed my response.

"Let me do the fucking dishes." She tried again, this time vehemently. I shut off the water and placed the last cup on the drying rack.

"They're done already. Get the cupcakes." I ordered as I dried my hands on a rag and moved towards my bedroom to get the laundry.

"Tch." She grumbled something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like "fucking stubborn Uchiha" and walked towards the refrigerator. Entering my room and facing "the pile" I realized that I would need a storage seal to get all of the laundry out of my apartment and to the Laundromat. There was no _way_ we would ever fit any of this in just one or two laundry sacks. Rolling my eyes, I opened one of the drawers of my desk and grabbed a spare seal. I placed it on the floor and starting sealing small pile after small pile into it until eventually "the pile" was sealed and not a single article of clothing was left behind. I shoved the seal into my pocket and stepped out of my room. Sakura was already waiting at the front door, the cardboard box of four cupcakes in hand. She turned around as I approached and opened the door.

"You actually needed a storage seal?" She grinned after I slipped my shoes on. We stepped out one by one. I shut the door behind me, feeling my face get hot. _Yes_ I needed a fucking storage seal… for my fucking dirty laundry. Then I realized she was just making fun of me to get back at me for the dishes. My eyes narrowed. This could get ugly if she wanted it to go that way… I already had a comeback ready, so I unleashed it.

"Yes, _your_ underthings added to the amount of clothes as well." I deadpanned. Suddenly, she looked _horrified_. I chuckled to myself in my head, but settling on smirking at her. She deserved that one.

"Hentai!" She shoved me hard and I let out a short laugh at her expense, but continued walking anyway.

"You walked into that one, Sakura." I explained, because really, what did she _think_ was going to happen when she teased me?

"You could have reminded me to separate my clothes from yours!" She hissed, peeved.

I shrugged, dropping the joke because I already won this one and I didn't want the walk to the Laundromat to be tense.

"They're just clothes. Relax." Because really they _were_ just that. Clothes. Now if I had seen her naked? That's another story. Personally, I didn't feel a woman's clothes were something forbidden to look at; not at this point in life anyway. If you ask me, what's underneath the clothes is what counts.

She didn't respond and silently, we walked across the street once we were outside and down the block a little. We came upon the Laundromat and found it still open, as it should be at this hour. The wicked old woman was there. I took a breath as I spotted her through the window. It was _much_ easier dealing with shinobi than civilians. If a shinobi pissed me off, at this point I could probably just punch him and things would be settled after that. It wasn't the same with the civilian population. They didn't get me and I didn't get them. It didn't help that I wasn't a very social person, either. Regardless, I followed Sakura through the door. The bells jingled as she walked through, a huge but forced smile on her face, despite how angry I knew she was with the woman.

"Welcome! Ah! Sakura-chan it's always a pleasure to see—

The old woman was round, and had grey hair in a top knot. She wore a traditional navy and red kimono with traditional wooden slippers. Her grey eyes landed on me and she stopped talking, mid-sentence. I felt my body tense up and prepare itself for her to start spitting fire at me more out of habit than actual expectation.

"Why are you in _this man's_ company, Sakura-chan? I thought you knew better?" The woman ignored me and just continued talking to Sakura. I saw… _hatred_ flash through Sakura's green eyes for a split second. I think I stared at her in awe even after she had squashed it. That much anger and… _hate _just didn't belong in her eyes. In my mind Sakura was always either laughing or crying… never… _hating_. I frowned.

"Obaa-san, Sasuke is an important teammate of mine. I came here, because I know you've heard the rumors. To be honest, Sasuke saved my life in battle many times. I'd like it if you two could start fresh, ne? We baked you some cupcakes together to start off on the right foot." Sakura explained softly and gently, as if she were talking to a difficult child. I applauded her acting skills in the back of my mind as I watched in fascination as she handed the box over to the old woman, who carefully took it. The woman sighed and turned to me, the box in-hand.

"Is what she says true?" The woman asked. I could tell she was going blind but nevertheless I'm pretty sure she could make out my face just fine. I kept my expression neutral. I didn't want her to know that I was actually nervous. This is the first _actual _conversation I'd ever had with the woman.

"Aa." I replied in a deadpan.

"Very well, Uchiha Sasuke. You can call me Noriko. But if I find you causing trouble of any sort, I'll ban you from here. _Both_ of you." She pointedly looked at Sakura who feigned surprise.

I narrowed my eyes and Sakura giggled to cover up for the awkward tension in the air.

"Obaa-san, you know I would never!" Sakura smiled almost flawlessly, but I knew it wasn't her _real_ smile. "In any case, thank you for understanding! Enjoy the cupcakes! I know they're your favorite." She even winked to seem more innocent to the elderly woman. I was now fully impressed with her ability to handle people.

"Arigato, child." Noriko placed a hand atop Sakura's and smiled at her. She nodded towards me and waddled away to go put the cupcakes in her back room.

…

I guess that went better than expected?

Sakura whirled towards me and sighed, running a hand through her hair. She seemed stressed before she stuck out her hand.

"Come on, hand over the seal." She asked, but I walked over to a laundry cart, instead. She grabbed another one and wheeled it next to the one I grabbed. It was a good idea too, because we'd _definitely _need more than one. I placed the seal inside the cart and poured chakra into it. The laundry appeared in a large, tall pile and fell over into the cart next to it, some articles of clothing falling onto the floor with a muffled thump. There was _so_ much laundry… I just _didn't _have the will to look at it anymore… Sakura bent over and picked up a few of my shirts that had fallen to the floor. I saw her look at the Uchiha fan on the back of one of them as she contemplated something.

"Maybe we should just separate the dark colors from the light ones and just wash it all together…" She finally mumbled, holding some of my shirts in her hands. She was going to hate this laundry trip as much as I was… but it needed to be done.

"I was planning on just stuffing as much laundry in each machine as I could…" I admitted, much to my shame.

"It's tempting…" Sakura agreed, but we both knew we were too meticulous to do something like that. I think we sighed in unison before we both started separating each article of clothing by color. She took her reds and pulled out the whites. I separated everything black or grey into a third cart. The sorting process took only a few minutes. I think we both momentarily forgot that we had an extra set of hands to help. This would be _nightmarish_ if either of us was alone... I was grateful for her help.

I smirked as I came across a lacy, plum thong, and a mischievous thought accompanying it. I slid my gaze over to Sakura. She was still diligently pulling out the red and white clothes, focused entirely on the task. I hooked one end of the lacy undergarment onto the edge of my thumb. I pulled the other end as far back as it would go and aimed it at her. When I released the tension on the surprisingly stretchy garment, it shot across the short distance between me and her and hit her square in the temple. Surprised, she caught it on instinct, trapping it against the side of her face. When she looked at it I swear her face turned as red as her shirt.

"Sasuke you asshole!" She hissed in a whisper, to not alert the old woman that we were definitely up to no good. She shot me an evil, green-eyed glare and I smirked back at her. Lightning fast, she grabbed a pair of my boxers from the cart in front of me— these had a silver shuriken pattern on them— and proceeded to try to whack me with them. I dodged her efforts about three times before I sensed the old lady coming back from the back room. I let her hit me across my shoulder with them and quickly went back to doing the laundry. Sakura went back to "acting normal" as soon as the old woman returned, abandoning my boxers in the cart she found them in. Not long after Noriko walked back away, Sakura decked my shoulder, hard when I wasn't paying attention. Despite being chakra deprived, she still _almost _gave me a dead arm. I glared at her.

"You didn't have to hit me." I whispered harshly.

She stuck her tongue out at me.

"That's for looking at a girl's panties, _hentai_." She whispered back. I rolled my eyes.

"As if I'd never seen a woman's underwear before." I quietly argued back.

"My underwear is special." She hissed back and I looked over at her curiously.

"How so?" I asked. Suddenly she grinned over at me and stuck her tongue out again.

"It's a _secret_!" She mocked, repeating my words from earlier tonight. I had to admit, her comeback was good.

"Hn." I allowed the short laugh to escape before we picked four separate washers to put our laundry in. Four. We needed_ four separate washers_. One for the white clothes, one for the red clothes, and two for the dark clothes. I would _never_ let this much laundry build up _ever_ again.

Being the only people here at this odd hour, I realized that Sakura and I had taken up all of the new washers that Noriko had installed. I smirked. Well at least this was going to be an _efficient _laundry trip. The newer machines worked faster so we wouldn't have to stay here for long. She was holding out her hand in front of me and I suddenly realized that we needed to buy detergent and get change for the machines. Wordlessly, I pulled out my wallet from my pocket and stuck a twenty-gold bill into the palm of her hand. She nodded in silent thanks and went into the back room to find the obaa-san. She came back out with a drawstring bag full of change and a large container of unscented detergent.

I poured the detergent while she loaded up the machines with silver coins. She hit the start button on each machine one by one and left a cart in front of each one. We moved over to a sitting area in the corner with comfortable green and blue lounge chairs. In front of the chairs was a small, round, black table, on which rested a neat pile of relatively current magazines. Sakura picked up a magazine directed towards the female civilian population. I read the cover as she flipped through the pages quickly and sat on a large, cushioned chair.

"One hundred and three sex moves that will blow his mind?" I deadpanned in disbelief. I had to see this for myself. Sakura looked at me oddly and flipped the magazine back over to its front, as if she hadn't even noticed that. She checked the page number and starting flipping through the magazine to find the article. I pushed her over in the comfy chair as I settled in next to her so I could see over her shoulder. I caught images of shoes and handbags and other vapid things that I don't even think Sakura really cared about.

"You can tell me which ones are bullshit." She commented in regards to the article she was looking for. She finally stopped on the right page. I shrugged in response. For now this would be entertaining. I was curious as to what the media was fooling women into believing.

"Number one; 'I love it when women shout in a foreign language; it creates tension and—

"Bullshit." I interrupted.

"But that's more of a matter of opinion, Sasuke." She assuaged professionally.

"Bullshit. Next." I drawled in a bored manner and relaxed into the chair. I decided that she would read and I would just listen as I stared at our laundry rolling around in the soapy water on the other side of the room.

"Whatever, that one was from Kenji of the Crescent Moon Island." I felt her shrug next to me. She was warm and the chair was _just_ big enough to fit us both with no room to spare. She felt nice against me. I realized I was looking forward to sleeping with her again.

"There aren't that many foreign languages anyway." I replied, growing curious about number two.

"Number two; 'While I was reorganizing my shuriken, my girlfriend walked in the room completely naked and just took me'. Reiju of Wind Country." She articulated and then paused. I realized I had closed my eyes. I cracked open one eye to look at her.

"What?" I asked. Why was she silent?

"Bullshit or not?" She asked.

Oh. No that one wasn't bullshit. That would get any man up in under a second. Surprise was a woman's greatest weapon during sex. Reiju— whether that was his real name or not— had a point.

"Not bullshit." I closed my eye and continued relaxing. "I'll let you know if it's bullshit."

"Okay. Number three; 'If a girl plays with her breasts, touches them, licks them, or flicks her own nipples, sex becomes out of this world.' From Daichiro of Rice country."

"Hn. Daichiro of Rice country is new to sex." I smirked. If you had to let _her_ do all of the work, then you were clearly inexperienced. Perhaps he was afraid he wouldn't do it right. Each woman was sensitive in a different way, of course.

"Bullshit?" Sakura asked, jerking me from my condescending thoughts.

"No, just amateur." I clarified.

"Number four; 'One girl took advantage of my morning wood by climbing on top of me while I was asleep.' Testu also of Rice Country."

Lucky bastard.

"Number five; 'Ask him to remove your panties using his mouth.' Aia of wind country."

"Why, so he could feel like your _dog_?" I deadpanned. What kind of advice was that? Had that woman actually tried doing that and _actually _received a positive result, or did she just make it up to put it in the magazine?

"Not sexy?" Sakura asked.

"No, not sexy." I agreed.

"Matter of opinion, Sasuke." She reminded and continued. Hn. I wouldn't remove a woman's underwear with my teeth if she asked me to. That was degrading. The teeth-technique would be more useful for… a fucking _dog_. Like Inuzuka. Granted, sex could get rough and even wild sometimes, but never insane enough for a man, or at least for _me _to actually _tear_ a woman's underwear off with my fucking teeth— at _her_ request or not. That was _not_ good advice. If I end up in bed with a civilian next time and she asks me to do take off her panties with my teeth I'll know exactly which magazine company to find and burn to the ground for ruining the experience.

"Number six; 'Sprinkle a little bit of pepper beneath his nose before he climaxes. Sneezing feels similar to an orgasm and will—

I snatched the magazine from her hands. Enough was enough. That one was _ridiculous_. I tore the article out of the magazine as she watched in fascination, crumpled it up and threw it into the wastebasket beneath the table. Garbage.

"That one was _that_ bad?" She asked. I studied her grinning expression before I crossed my arms and closed my eyes again, smirking in response.

"Bullshit." I simply replied, keeping my cool. Pepper… _pepper! _During an orgasm! Disgusting. What if it fell into his eyes instead or whatever? There should be a committee to ban articles like that from reaching the public. I'm sure they cause more sexual problems than they fix. I felt Sakura shrug next to me. She flipped through the magazine as I rested my eyes. Before long, the first machine we set beeped to let us know that it was done. I stood up and Sakura followed me. Seconds after, the second one beeped, then the third and then finally the fourth. We piled all of the laundry into the four carts, wheeled the carts over to the drying and folding area and threw the clothes into six— yes, _six_— different driers so they'd dry faster.

She put more change into the machines and set the driers on. Sakura handed me a magazine I didn't notice she had picked up. It was some men's magazine about new inventions and work-related tips and tricks. As I flipped through a men's magazine for the first time in my twenty-one years of life, I noticed that on every other page there was a half-naked girl to accompany some article about the newest trains that have been created and tools and appliances that could be powered by chakra as well as news updates on the five great nations after the most recent war. Bored, I put the magazine down. I just didn't really care. I preferred books. Novels. Characters with backstories and gruesome, detailed death scenes and battles as well as unexpected plot twists. If I wanted information on something I would just go to a library or ask someone in passing. I didn't need to read magazines that were mostly filled with trash I'd never use.

Sakura picked the magazine back up, curious as to what was inside. She flipped pages, studying everything until she stopped at one.

"Seriously?" She glowered.

Her tone was condescending and mildly offended, as if she felt she was personally better than whatever was in the magazine. I leaned over and looked at the picture she was looking at. It was just a slightly-toned civilian model, posing as a kunoichi. She had a hita-ate around her breasts with no nation or insignia inscribed on it. She was wearing the skimpiest, blue g-string you could think of and her long, navy-black hair filled the page, sparkling blue eyes twinkling at the camera, a seductive blush on her cheeks. She was holding a fake kunai, stretching the side of her g-string with it as if she were about to cut it off. It would have been sexy if she was a real kunoichi with maybe more practical hair, an anbu tattoo and possibly a _real_ kunai in hand. I noted that the muscle-to-fat ratio of her body was impractical for the life of a kunoichi as well. I read the title of the article._ Should you Date a Kunoichi?_ With shuriken and kunai piercing some of the letters.

I could feel Sakura's killing intent rise as she violently flipped the flimsy page, nearly tearing it from the magazine as she went to look over the article. How did I miss this when I was looking through the magazine? To my credit I _did _just skip around it briefly.

"I can't _fucking_ believe they put this _girl_ with her fake kunai in this magazine." Sakura hissed venomously. "There's no national insignia on that hitai-ate either! It's so offensive!" She was stewing again. I could practically see the steam rising from her skin.

My eyes skimmed through the article. Sakura was right. The image _was_ offensive, as was the article. To a kunoichi like her, who was viewed as an equal by her male comrades, I could see it being _very_ offensive in her opinion.

_So, should you date a kunoichi? What are the pro's? The cons? You've come to the right place! _

To be honest, the article was making _me_ sick just reading it. Some pompous idiot comfortable in some office obviously wrote it. He described kunoichi as outwardly unapproachable and deadly, but mentioned that that was a good thing in bed and that the bottom line for any kunoichi was that they needed financial stability, and one thing civilian men had over male shinobi was that they didn't risk dying while making loads of money. Garbage. Garbage. Garbage. That one offended _me_. I made piles of money and I wasn't likely to die any time soon. I took the magazine out of her hands, took the _other_ women's magazine off of the folding table that we were leaning against, carried them both back across the room and placed them back on the black table where the other magazines were… except I placed them _underneath_ all the other magazines so hopefully they would never be read-through in this establishment so closeto our apartment complex _ever_ again. I walked back over to Sakura. She had her arms crossed and appeared to be glaring at a floor tile somewhere to the left of me. If looks could kill I'm sure the dust mites on that floor tile would be dead.

"If you glare at the floor any harder you're going to set it on fire." I commented dryly. She seemed to snap out of her thoughts, paused for a minute and laughed at what I said.

"No, only you can do that." She chuckled. "That was the most pompous, aggravating article I have ever read. Even Ino's magazines aren't _that_ trashy." She commented.

I shrugged and continued leaning against the folding table, watching our clothes spin in the huge dryers. I spotted Sakura's dress, my favorite training shirt and the only blue pair of boxers I ever owned.

"So how do you plan on disassembling Yamanaka's brain?" I asked, because I was entirely too curious about what exactly she was going to do to him. I was still hoping for her to kick him where it counted, but she seemed like she was going to do far worse than that.

"Ah, so you figured out that the damage will be more mentally traumatic than physically." She smiled so sweetly at me while stating such cynical words that it actually made me nervous. "I'll tell you later, I promise." She added, back to being the not-evil Sakura I was more familiar with. I nodded; a promise was a promise. I knew she'd keep hers.

Another few minutes of silence and the laundry was done. We placed everything in the carts and wheeled them the short distance to the folding tables. For a moment, we stared at the laundry. Would it be weird if she folded some of my clothes? I looked over at her. Her eyes met mine. I think she was thinking the same thing.

"There's… a lot of clothes…" I started slowly, hoping she'd just neutralize the awkward tension herself.

"Let me, um, help…" She replied just as slowly. A determined look appeared in her eyes and I relaxed.

We started on all of the shirts first because they were the most tedious and annoying to fold. I ended up folding one of her tiny shirts, smirking at it. I was just amused by how small her clothes were compared to mine.

"These _fucking _high collars are _so _annoying, Sasuke." She glowered as she pushed down and tucked in a collar of one of my shirts. "Don't you have normal t-shirts!?" She asked.

"I do." I replied smugly, only because her dissatisfaction was amusing. "Just not many." I saw her shoot me a glare from the corner of my eye.

Eventually we finished folding all of the shirts, Sakura happily folding my "normal" shirts while she left me to struggle with my high-collared ones. We made separate stacks of all the shirts and I sealed them into the storage seal. Next, we folded all of the pants. That was an easy task. They were sealed in next. Afterwards, I folded most of my boxers because _yes_ I wanted even those folded. Sakura snickered at me the entire time but stopped when I finally threatened to grab her underwear and have one of my hawks deliver it to Naruto.

After that was done, we sealed everything else in and got moving. We both thanked the old woman, who surprisingly smiled at _both_ of us, and took all of the leftover change and trudged back to my apartment, tiredly. It had taken us a full two hours to the laundry and it was now ten. We both still had to shower and sleep. I didn't know how Sakura was going to wake up for another early shift tomorrow. I didn't know how I was going to wake up at the same time, not sleep in and go train with Udon. I would have to set my fucking alarm.

Remembering tomorrow's schedule, I glowered at the fact that Sakura had a date with Yamanaka. Even though I knew she was only going with him to build him up high enough so his downwards spiral would hurt ten times as bad, I _still_ didn't like the idea of them being out together. A lot could happen on that forty-five minute walk to Hofuku… I had the sudden urge to warn her not to drink too much and lose track of what she was doing, because I _knew_ she was irresponsible with alcohol but _damn it_ I suppressed it because I wasn't anyone special. I couldn't just demand that she carry herself a certain way or not drink or whatever. I rolled my eyes as I realized I would just have to fucking deal with it. It was just one night anyway and Sakura had proven that she could take care of herself. I had to trust her.

Before I knew it we were upstairs and I was unlocking my apartment door. Tiredly, I stepped out of my shoes and walked over to my bedroom, then unsealed all of the clothes we folded, separating them into drawers as Sakura grabbed some water to drink from the refrigerator. I took all of Sakura's clothes— including the ones she had yet to wear— and put them on a low shelf in my closet where I had space. That shelf was originally meant for spare shoes, but I always left my shoes by the door anyway, so it would finally serve a purpose now. Once that was done I stepped out to find her putting dishes away into the cabinets above her head. I glared at her. Just what was I supposed to do now while she showered?

"You should shower first." My voice interrupted her and she smiled as she lifted the last cup and placed it back into the cabinet above her head.

"Thanks." She grinned and walked past me to the bathroom. I busied myself with wiping down the kitchen table and shining the sink, even though that was a useless task. I grinned mischievously into my reflection in the metal of the sink faucet as I remembered the letter I wrote to Hiashi earlier in the day. He was probably reading it _right_ now. With any luck, he was already contemplating on how to respond to "Naruto's request". His response would be delivered _right_ to the hokage tower, where Naruto was spending more and more of his time these days.

I listened to the water run in the bathroom as Sakura showered. I put away the cleaning supplies and straightened out our shoes at the front door, even though they didn't need to be straightened. Bored, I fell onto my couch and turned on the tv. I half-listened to some game show about guessing prices on objects correctly. How boring.

My mind wandered to Sakura as usual and how she planned on helping me with my chakra control. Idly, I summoned my chakra to the palm of my hand, remembering how she did it back at the hospital. I tried to tighten and minimize the flow of chakra, but only ended up cutting it off completely. I felt tired after that so I stopped bullshitting and flipped the channel. A movie was on. The princess of the land of spring we saved that one time was in it. Yukie was her name. Fukuzie, Kuzuf— I can't remember her surname. I watched the actors on the screen without really paying attention to the plot. Eventually, Sakura opened the door to the bathroom.

"S-Sasuke?" She called out nervously. I sat up _immediately_. She did _not _sound okay.

"What?" I asked, on edge.

"Um… I forgot… my clothes…" Her nervous tone called from the bathroom. Ugh. I thought she fell or hurt herself or broke something. I slammed my hand into my eyes for being unnecessarily concerned, but at the same time I wasn't surprised. I had feelings for her. It was bound to happen. When I didn't respond she sounded half-angry, half-worried.

"Sasuke! Answer me!" She hissed, as if she thought I would _actually _just leave her to run around my apartment in nothing but a towel in search for clothes.

"All _right_. Calm down." I picked myself up off the couch and listened as she closed the bathroom door with a click, understanding that I was going to get her her clothes.

…

I smirked. This _could_ be fun… I didn't really have a reason for messing with her other than the fact that I just found that I had the uncontrollable urge to do so. To be honest, Sakura was sexy when she was angry. Her entire body tensed muscle-by-muscle and her cheeks almost always flushed attractively. I abandoned the rather perverse idea, however, because it was late and we both needed to sleep… and I wanted to shower and relax under the hot water for a while as well.

I found the boxers she had been sleeping in the last two days and tossed them into the now empty hamper. I picked up a solid navy blue pair with a button on the front and a "normal" black shirt with my insignia on the back. No collar, because I now knew how much hatred Sakura harbored for my shirt-collars. I appreciated them because they had deflected many kunai and shuriken, saving my neck from damage in battle. I wasn't going to make her sleep in a shirt she obviously hated, however so I picked up the fresh set of clothes and headed over to the bathroom knocking on the door once. I heard the rustle of fabric against the wood of the door. She was leaning against it and had turned around.

"Turn around." She ordered. I rolled my eyes and turned around.

"Open the door." I called over my shoulder.

"Are you turned away?" She asked sharply, being as thorough as possible. I rolled my eyes again.

"No, Sakura I want to see you naked before the night is over." I drawled sarcastically.

"Ha-ha." She laughed dryly and I heard the door open. I felt the air on my side move around and I realized she had stuck her arm through the crack in the door. I was holding the bundle of clothes up too high and she was moving her arm around trying to find it. I lowered my arm just as her palm smacked on top of the pile.

"Oh, there it is. Thanks." She took the clothes and from the corner of my eye I saw her arm disappear and the door close. I went back to lying down on the couch. Tiredly, my eyelids drooped shut. I yawned and drifted asleep as Sakura changed in my bathroom.

-X-

AWWWWWWW I love giving Sasuke his playful moments and his grumpy moments! Let me know what you guys think! Lots of looove! –hugs-

Disclaimer: I don't own shit. I don't make money off of this.

See 'ya later, Space Cowboy!


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